Perfectly Together
by HaiCas
Summary: Dean's got himself a daughter who he's been lying to, a brother who's been lying to him, and a sister who he thought was in Heaven, but actually isn't. What's a Winchester to do?
1. Prologue

Things were hard at first. Though that could be said for anyone who doesn't have much experience with a baby and has one dumped on them full time. Dean didn't leave the bunker. He didn't shower, he didn't sleep, and he hardly ate. For weeks he poured over this tiny, helpless infant who spent hours a day screaming her head off. Dean even started to think he had made a mistake not trying to bring his sister back, but eventually he got the hang of it and they got into their own little routine. The whole issue of not getting any sleep was completely resolved when Dean stopped trying to force Axel to sleep in her crib and instead let her sleep in bed with him, something that continued on much longer than what some might consider normal. They both got more sleep and Dean felt safer having her right there next to him.

Dean wouldn't have made it through that first year without his little brother. Sam was the one who made all of the late night supply runs when Dean was out of diapers or formula. Sam took over when Dean had worked himself into a state of utter exhaustion, which happened more than either of them would like to admit. Dean wanted and tried to do everything himself, he wanted to take care of this little girl with no help, but the truth was he couldn't and it took him much longer than it should have to realize that and let Sam take over some of the responsibilities.

An entire year passed and they were celebrating Axel's first birthday when Dean realized that he hadn't been on a hunt since before his sister had died, an entire year and he hadn't killed anything. He was surprised by that, but even more surprised that he hadn't missed it. Hell, he barely had time to shower, much less search for cases and who the hell was going to watch the baby while he hunted anyways? But Sam felt differently and after Axel's first birthday he started hunting without Dean. At first Dean didn't like it and he tried to talk Sam out of it, but Sam insisted there was nothing Dean could do about it. So for the most part it was just Dean and Axel hanging out at the bunker together.

Dean cried when she took her first steps. And when she said her first word 'Sam', which he was more mad about than anything. Though he soon figured out that was her first word because it was who he talked about the most to her, always asking her "When's Sam coming home?" or "Where's your uncle Sam?". He was glad that Sam wasn't there for either of those, this baby sure was making him soft. The worst of it was Axel falling over and splitting her head open when she was learning to walk, Dean rushed her to the emergency room and she was fine, but it broke his heart and he felt like a failure.

Once when Sam got back from a week long hunt and realized that Dean hadn't changed clothes or showered since he had last seen him Sam knew he had to intervene. He signed Axel up for a playgroup and insisted that Dean take her, even when he was gone. Dean didn't want to at first, but it ended up working out for the best and Dean started enjoying hanging out with the other women who had children. He continued taking Axel to that playgroup until it was time for her to start school.

Dean and Sam had never even discussed enrolling Axel in school. They had never enrolled Imogen, but that was due in part to the fact that they never stayed in one place long enough. Now they were or at least Dean was. And it wasn't until one of the mom's from the play group asked Dean that he got to thinking, he didn't like the idea of her being away from him for hours at a time every day, because he hadn't been away from her since she was born. But Imogen wanted her daughter to be normal, and Dean was going to do his damndest to make that happen. So he called up a friend who drew up all the necessary paperwork and Dean went down to the local school and enrolled her and a week later she was starting school. He had taken her to pick up some clothes and supplies and she was excited.

The morning of her first day Dean woke up early and cooked her breakfast and helped her get dressed and she was bouncing off the walls with excitement. She skipped happily all of the way out to the Impala and strapped herself into her booster seat. Trying to hide his sadness Dean chatted with her all the way to the school. Then they got to the school and Dean put her too big backpack on her and held her hand as they walked inside to her classroom, she was still bursting with excitement. He met the teacher who was a portly woman about his age and then he bent down so he was eyelevel with Axel. He put a hand on both of her shoulders and sighed softly.

"You know I love you right, baby girl?"

Axel smiled brightly, "I love you too, Daddy."

Dean swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears back, "You're gonna be a good girl? Do what your teacher says?"

She nodded, "I promise," she wrapped her arms around her father.

Dean held her tightly as a tear dripped down his cheek and he broke the hug so he could look at her, "I'll be here to pick you up in a couple of hours, okay?"

Axel reached up to wipe the tear from his face, "Don't cry, Daddy."

"We'll go for ice cream later, okay?" his voice was shaking and he knew if he didn't get out of there soon he was going to be a mess.

Axel smiled and nodded before sitting in her chair, "I'm gonna get chocolate and peanut butter."

Dean smiled and stood back up, gently rubbing the little girl's hair, "All right baby," he said, turning to walk out of the classroom, not looking behind him for fear that he wouldn't be able to leave. Ten minutes later he was back inside of the bunker and Sam was sitting in the little makeshift living room they had put together, "Where's Axel?" he asked, standing up and looking extremely confused.

Dean frowned, "School," he stated plainly.

"School?" Sam asked, "Since when does she go to school?"

"Since today. I enrolled her last week."

"Why didn't you tell me?" the younger brother exclaimed.

Dean shrugged, "You haven't been here in almost a month. I didn't know I needed to get your permission."

"You don't," Sam sighed, "I just would have liked to have been there for her first day of school."

"You were busy. I didn't want to interrupt your life."

"Jeeze Dean. You're acting like a jealous house wife who's pissed that her husband had travel for work. I get that you stopped hunting when Axel was born, but I haven't. I've still got a job to do whether you like it or not."

Dean just shook his head, "Okay, sorry," he sighed, "I'm gonna go lay down."

Sam frowned, "You're taking a nap in the middle of the day?"

"Well, it's not like I've got anyone to look after," he barked unhappily and trudged into the room he shared with Axel and threw himself down on his bed face first. He turned his head so that he would be able to breathe and spotted the stuffed dog that she couldn't sleep without. He grabbed it and pulled it to his chest, exhaling softly and closing his eyes.

While Axel immediately loved going to school it took Dean a few months to adjust to her being gone so much. For a while he just moped around the bunker until it was time to go and pick her up, and then he tried chaperoning field trips and other things, but it turned out while he loved Axel and spending time with her everyone else's kids were completely insufferable. Axel fit in at the school perfectly and made tons of friends. Monsters and the supernatural had no place in her world, at first that was a little weird to Dean, but he adjusted. Now his only connection to hunting was Sam. Eventually Dean did manage to pick up a little day work at the local bar so he had something to do while she was away learning.

Dean worked, Sam hunted, and Axel learned. It worked pretty well. And amazingly enough there was no outside interference that jeopardized Axel's safety. Crowley and his demons kept away, and Dean hadn't heard anything from Castiel since before his sister had died. He figured that Castiel knew of her death and was keeping his distance for the safety of everyone involved.

Eleven years of good and safe and normal is what Dean got for Axel before the shit hit the fan. Just like it always does with the Winchesters.

 **A/N: HERE WE GO! Thank you all so much for joining me over here in the sequel (threequel?). This story means so much to me and I'm so excited to share it with y'all!**


	2. Chapter One

Axel felt the bed dip down as her father slowly and carefully got up from it. Generally when he did this it was because it was time to get up and get ready for school. She would always roll over to the spot where he had been sleeping to soak up his warmth, then he would gently rub her back and sing or talk softly to her until she woke up, it was their routine.

This time however her father got up and left the room without a word. Axel lay there for a few minutes, almost falling back to sleep before realizing something was off. She would be late for school if she didn't get up and today was show and tell. She had found a small, golden amulet in her dad's bedside table and she had slipped it into her backpack without his knowledge to show to her friends, and she was ridiculously excited about it.

Axel sat up in the bed and looked around the dark room. She yawned and tapped on her dad's phone so that it would light up and tell her what time it was, three in the morning. That was weird, something was not right. Axel slowly got off the bed and stumbled out of the bedroom and down the hall towards the voices she was hearing.

"What the hell are you doing here, Cas?" Dean's voice was hushed.

"Dean, I didn't wake you up to bitch at him," Sam's voice cut through, "What Dean means is, we haven't seen or heard from you in over a decade. What's going on? Is everything okay up in Heaven?"

Axel could hear them, but stopped just before the doorway so they wouldn't see her. She stood there and listened as an unfamiliar voice spoke up and she peeked around the corner. Sam and Dean had their backs to her and a man in a tan coat was standing opposite of them but took no notice of Axel.

"I apologize," Castiel stated, "I've kept my distance these last few years at your sister's request. But there is something I need to discuss with the three of you."

Sam narrowed his eyes at the man, "The three of us?"

"No one is better at this kind of thing than the Winchesters."

Dean shook his head, "No. HELL no."

"You haven't even heard my request," Castiel stated.

"I don't care," Dean took a step towards the man, "You think I'm going to let you have anything to do with that little girl, you think that I'm gonna let anything happen to her? Well, you're out of your damn mind."

Castiel looked extremely confused, "Little girl?" he questioned, "I wasn't referring to any children."

"Then what are you talking about?" Dean's tone was angrier than Axel had heard in her lifetime.

"You, Sam, and Imogen. I need the help of the three of you."

Dean and Sam exchanged glances.

"Imogen can't help," Dean shook his head, "But thanks."

"I'm sure she's probably still displeased with me and I assume she's busy caring for the child. But this is important."

Dean scoffed and shook his head, "Stop, okay? Just stop Cas. I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, but it's not funny and I've got less than no interest in playing along. All right?"

"I don't understand," Castiel looked back and forth at the brothers, "I'm not playing any games. I really do need your help."

"Then say that. Say that you need my help, but don't pretend that you don't know."

"Dean," the angel's face crinkled in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

If it hadn't been for Sam taking a step between the men Dean would have lunged at him.

"Cas, you really don't know?" Sam questioned.

"Don't know what? I'm sorry, I haven't spent much time on Earth since last we spoke."

"Cas, Imogen's dead," the long-haired Winchester said somberly.

Castiel shifted uncomfortably and looked at Sam, "You're not serious."

"Yeah, Cas," Sam assured, "She died a long time ago."

"What happened?" Castiel asked, sounding almost distressed.

Sam sighed, "She died having the baby."

"Why didn't you pray to me?" he asked, "I would have come. I would have helped."

Dean scoffed, "She didn't want your help. In fact, it was her dying wish to not have you fix her."

"How did you not know?" Sam asked, "I mean, we figured you stayed away all this time because you did know."

Castiel stood stiffly, face scrunched up in confusion.

"What, you don't have some kind of notification system in place in case one of us kicks the bucket?" Dean demanded, "Gotta say Cas, I'm offended. I thought what we had was special."

The angel shook his head, "I would have been alerted if any of you entered Heaven. If your sister was there I would know."

"Wait, what?" Dean asked, "You're telling me Imogen's not in Heaven?"

"I would be willing to go and check," the angel offered, "But, if she was there someone would have informed me."

Sam ran a hand through his hair, "So she's not in Heaven," he let out a groan, "You know what that means, Dean?"

"No wonder that son-of-a-bitch kept the demons away," Dean shook his head, "Crowley's got our sister."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"Well, we've got to get her back," Dean stated.

Castiel looked at the men, "Dean, Sam. I don't want to alarm either of you. But the reason that I came for your help," he paused, "Hell has become extraordinarily powerful in the last year. I, and the rest of the angels, are becoming increasingly worried about what's going on."

"How's it getting its power?" Sam asked, "Did someone overthrow Crowley?"

Castiel shook his head, "No, he's still king. However, for Hell to be radiating this amount of raw power the king would have to take a queen. Rumor has it Crowley crafted his queen himself and she grows stronger every day."

Dean's heart was racing, "You don't think-"

"Crowley went to extraordinary links to cover up what he has been doing. It probably took him a long time to break Imogen, but yes. It looks like he may have taken your sister as his queen, and if he took the child too, well that could be devastating."

"He didn't take the child," Dean stated.

"How do you know that?" Castiel questioned.

Axel, who had been crouched in the door listening in for the last few minutes was now thoroughly confused and stood up, "Daddy," she said, holding on to the door frame.

Castiel looked up from Dean to the small child standing fifty feet from him. His bright blue eyes met her matching ones and for the briefest of seconds Castiel felt like the world wasn't ending, like things were good instead of very, very bad. But then Dean moved between them so that Castiel couldn't see her and things weren't quite so good anymore.

"Dammit," Dean grunted, turning to the girl, "Axel," his voice was gruff, "Go back to bed."

"But Daddy-"

"NOW!" he had never raised his voice to her quite the way he just did.

Her mouth fell open and she was trembling. This wasn't like her father, something was very wrong, and that scared her.

"Dean," Sam groaned, walking over to Axel and laying a hand on her shoulder, ushering her out of the room and following behind her to make sure she couldn't listen in any further. Who knew how much she had heard already?

Dean let out a long sigh, annoyed with himself, "Look Cas. I don't hunt anymore. Sammy hunts, but we are done with the whole end of the world bullshit. We're way too old for it."

"Why did you send her away?" Castiel asked, looking passed Dean where Sam had just disappeared with the young girl.

Dean caught Castiel's eye, "Because I don't want to confuse her. It's my job to protect her."

"Who is she?" the angel asked, knowing the answer.

"Don't do that," Dean stated, "Don't ask stupid questions. She's mine. I'm her dad. No one is going to take her from me."

"She's Imogen's and my child, isn't she?" Castiel questioned, "I can feel it. When we locked eyes."

"Stop," Dean stated, "You're not her dad. Your little swimmers might have created her but she is mine. Do you understand me?"

"Does she know?" Castiel asked, "Does she know the truth?"

"No," Dean shook his head, "And I've got no intention of telling her until she's old enough to understand."

"Dean-"

"No," Dean barked, "You don't get to make these decisions. She doesn't know you. She knows me."

"But-"

Dean interrupted again, "No. I want you to say that you understand and aren't going to try to come between me and my daughter."

"Dean-"

"CAS!"

"Fine," the angel breathed, "I won't come between the two of you."

"You won't tell her anything that might confuse her."

"Okay."

"Fine," he nodded, "Now you can go," Dean turned to walk back to his bedroom, but Castiel lay a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "What?" he asked, annoyed.

"I still need your help. Crowley is going to lead his demon army along with his queen, your sister, to destroy the world. And once he takes over the world he will destroy Heaven."

Dean shook his head, "I can't help you," he stated, "I'm not that guy anymore."

"I need your help, you and Sam. You two have saved the world once before, you can do it again."

"No," Dean shook his head, "I'm a dad now. I've got to take care of my daughter."

"You can't take care of her if the world burns," Castiel stated, "You understand that, right?"

"What do you want me to say Cas?" he shook his head, "I'm all that little girl has. She counts on me to keep her safe. And you know as well as I do that the very second Crowley gets wind of me plotting against him he'll go after her. He won't care that she's just a kid."

"What if I can guarantee her safety?" Castiel asked.

"You can't," Dean argued, "You can't guarantee anything."

"But I can," Castiel stated, "I have as much interest in keeping her safe as you do."

"What the hell are you going to do?" Dean asked, "Keep her hold up in Heaven?" he shook his head, "No way. I don't know what your crazy angel buddies will do to her."

"No, I wouldn't send her to Heaven," he stated, "Heaven's no place for a living human."

"So then what?" he asked, "How exactly do you plan to keep her safe.

Castiel sighed, "It's simple really. You need to get in touch with your sister."

"My sister?" Dean scoffed, "My sister the literal Queen of Hell," he shook his head, "Sorry, I don't exactly have her phone number."

"No," Castiel agreed, "But maybe you can summon her. If you can get her in touch with herself, or perhaps her daughter, even if her loyalty lies with Crowley she can make him promise not to hurt her. If you can get her to remember who her child is, the child will not be touched," he paused, "The King will abide by the Queens wishes. She overpowers him in every way, so he must keep her happy at all costs," he paused, "Separate they are powerful. But together they are unimaginable."

Dean narrowed his eyes, "But that would mean she would take Axel to Hell with her."

"Probably," Castiel acknowledged, "But she would be safe."

"No," Dean stated, shaking his head, "You're out of your damn mind."

"So you're just going to let Crowley take over?" Castiel asked, "That doesn't seem like a safe place for the child to live either."

"What's you plan Cas? March into hell and start throwing punches? Sounds like with a Queen and King that two geriatrics and an angel won't be able to do much damage."

"Heaven's angels would be on your side."

Dean rolled his eyes, "If what you're saying about Heaven is true than this is a suicide mission. Plain and simple."

The angel frowned, "Then at least we go down fighting."

Dean scoffed, "Sure, lemme just hand my kid over to demons and then go attack them knowing I'm gonna die," he shook his head, "You're out of your damn mind."

"I don't understand," Castiel fidgeted, "The Dean I know wouldn't stand down. He would have fought to keep life on Earth the way that it was. As a matter of fact, he DID fight to keep it that way. More than once."

"That was the Dean who didn't have a kid of his own to look out for."

"You still don't," Castiel argued, "That child isn't yours."

"She's more mine than yours," he barked unhappily at the man then took a deep breath, "I've got a question for you, Cas."

"What is it?"

"You can sense like presences and stuff right? Angels, demons, humans, monsters, whatever?"

"Yes, I can sense different energies."

"How did you not know she was here?"

"You're talking about my child?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "My child, but yeah."

"I don't know," he admitted, "I didn't sense her presence until she spoke up. I would assume she's protected by something. I would have to examine her closer to know for sure."

Dean sighed, "Come on then," he motioned to the man to follow him down the hall to the bedroom that he shared with his daughter, "Stay out here," he said to Castiel as he opened the door and went inside the room.

"Hey cupcake," he smiled at his daughter who was getting her long brown hair braided badly by her uncle, "Sam, you're doing that wrong."

"Shhh Daddy, he's learning," Axel said with a smile, "Practice makes perfect."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Is Cas gone?"

Dean shook his head, "Hey, Axe, I'm sorry for getting upset with you a little while ago. I didn't mean to yell at you."

She looked down at her hands, "I'm sorry."

Dean sighed and sat next to her, "Listen, my friend is going to come in here in a moment and take a look at you, maybe ask you some questions. He might seem a little scary, but he won't hurt you."

"Dean, what's going on?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head, "I'll explain later," he said, looking back at Axel, "Is it okay if my friend comes in?"

Axel nodded, "I guess."

"Cas," Dean called to the door.

Slowly Castiel walked into the room and stood in front of Axel who was sitting on the bed, "Hello."

Axel very timidly looked up at the man but didn't meet his eyes, "H-hi," she stuttered out, he was a bit of an intimidating presence. Dean kept his arm wound tight around the little girl, he didn't think Castiel would poof off with her, but he also wasn't taking any chances.

"Axe, this is my good friend Castiel. Cas, this is my daughter, Axel Rose."

"Like the guy from Guns 'N Roses," Axel explained reflexively. Anytime her father introduced her using her first and middle name she always felt the need to explain.

Castiel nodded and squatted down so that he would be eye level with the young girl. Axel's eyes traced the man's face, every inch, focusing in on his eyes. Slowly, without her realizing it, her hand reached up to touch his cheek and he lay his much larger one on top of hers and a strange sensation flowed through the both of them, neither moved as Castiel assessed her the best that he could.

"You guys okay?" Sam interrupted.

Castiel flinched and looked to Sam, "I think she's been warded," Castiel stated, "Against everything in creation. She's completely invisible.

Dean frowned, "No she's not. I see her right there."

"I don't mean physically, obviously," the man sighed, slowly standing back up, "I mean, that no creature in creation can sense her or feel her. She is someone who must be physically seen. No amount of spells or magic would be able to locate her. How did you two do this?"

"How?" Dean asked, "We've never done anything like that to her. No one's ever gotten the chance to do that to her. I would know."

Castiel nodded, "Maybe she was born with it," he explained, "I don't know how it happened, but I do know that she's safe as long as she's out of sight of any enemies."

"Well, the bunker is the safest place in the world," Dean stated, "Guess we'll hold up here until all this crap blows over."

"What are you talking about?" Axel asked, looking to her father.

Dean gently patted her head, "Nothing sweetheart."

Castiel looked at Dean and then Sam, "I need your help, because you two are more resourceful than any angel or demon alike. You say that my plan is faulty, well I'm counting on you two to come up with a better one."

"I'm in," Sam stated, "But Dean won't come," he said knowingly.

"Sam's right," Dean said with a nod as he pulled the little girl close to his side.

"Dean," Castiel looked at him, "I need you both."

"She needs me more. And I made a promise to my sister that I intend to keep."

The angel sighed, "Very well," he looked around the room, "Just so you know, this bunker isn't as safe as you think it is. Anyone who is a potential threat to you and the child will know that you're here."

Dean frowned but nodded, "Thanks for the heads up."

"I need to go," Castiel explained, looking to Sam, "I'll be in touch," and then he disappeared.

Dean grunted, "When the hell did he get his wings back?"

"Hell if I know," Sam sighed.

"Daddy," Axel looked at her father, "Who was he?"

"He's a friend that I used to work with," he smiled at the girl, "You should get some more sleep," he pulled back the blanket and motioned for her to get underneath it before covering her up.

"What about school?" she asked.

"Sleep," he said quietly.

"What's going on?" she asked, though she was pretty tired.

Dean sighed, "I'm sorry kiddo," he leaned down and kissed her head, "Get some sleep," he stood up and motioned for Sam to follow him out of the room. The door was almost closed when Axel spoke up again.

"Hey, Daddy."

Dean gripped the door tightly out of frustration, "Yes?"

"I love you."

Dean took a breath, "I love you too. Now please, get some sleep," he shut the door before Axel could ask any more questions. He had a lot of lying to do later and he needed to get his story straight now as to not confuse her more than she already was.

"What are you gonna do when she wakes up and starts asking questions?" Sam asked when they were far enough away from the door.

"Convince her it was all just a dream?" he suggested.

"Lies on top of lies," Sam shook his head, "Good luck with that."

"Thanks," Dean nodded, "I'm gonna need all the luck I can get."


	3. Chapter Two

"Dean, what the hell are you doing?" Sam barked quietly at his brother who was loading weapons into the false bottom trunk of the Impala.

Dean looked to his brother as he put the false bottom back into place, "What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked, heading back inside with his brother on his heel.

"What are you going to do? Yank Axel out of school and hit the road?" Sam demanded, "Thought we agreed that was no life for her."

Dean stopped and turned around so suddenly that Sam almost slammed into him, "You're right, it's no life for her. But guess what, neither is being a princess of hell. So I'm gonna keep her safe the only way that I know how."

"Hunting?" Sam asked, "Are you out of your mind? She's eleven years old."

"I know how old she is, Sammy," he snapped, "I've been in this bunker every day for the last eleven years. So don't you tell me how old she is."

"Imogen wouldn't have wanted this," Sam argued, "Imogen would want you to stay put. You're safe here. Axel is safe here. Safe and normal."

"Really?" Dean questioned, "Well, in case you haven't noticed Imogen isn't here and besides, you heard Cas. Everybody knows where the bunker is. She's not safe. But if we move around, don't stay in one place too long she just might be. Get it?"

Sam frowned and shook his head, "Dean, the bunker is the safest place in the world. Nothing gets in or out of here unless we let it."

"That's not even close to true and you know it," Dean scoffed, "Look, according to Cas Axel's hidden from just about everything in creation so it's not her I'm worried about. It's me. I'll make up some hex bags and I'll get some anti-angel tattoo or something."

"This isn't what our sister wanted."

Dean glared at his brother, "You think I don't know that?" he demanded, "Right now our sister is probably literally the queen of hell, so pardon me if I have to change things up a little. The most important thing is keeping that little girl safe."

"Dean-"

"Just stop it Sammy," Dean barked angrily, "Either help me or leave."

Sam frowned, "Dean, seriously?"

"Yeah seriously," Dean said, walking through the bunker to his bedroom, his hand was on the knob, "Either you're with me or you're on your own," he stated, "Take your pick."

Sam sighed and shook his head, "Of course I'm with you."

Dean smiled tightly, "Good, then go pack everything in the kitchen that won't go bad. We've got a long trip ahead of us."

"Where are we even going?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged and waved his brother off before opening the door to the darkened room where his daughter was sleeping. He grabbed up all the clothes he could find of theirs and stuffed them into a large duffel and set it outside the door before taking a seat on the edge of the bed next to Axel and gently rubbing her back.

"Wake up," his said softly, "Come on sweetheart."

Very slowly the small girl rolled over and opened her eyes, looking up at her father in the darkened room and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "What's wrong?" she asked groggily.

"We're going on a road trip," his voice was excited but hushed and even in her current state of exhaustion Axel knew something was off.

"What time is it?" she squeaked, rolling back onto her stomach and laying her face in the pillow, "I wanna sleep."

"You can sleep in the car," Dean reasoned, "Come on."

"What about school?" she asked.

"You won't be going for a while. We've gonna take a little family vacation. Me, you, and Sam."

Axel groaned loudly, "Why didn't you tell me we were going somewhere?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he explained, "Come on baby."

Axel pulled the pillow over her head and muffled a low scream into the bed before she slowly started sitting up. Dean couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"What should I pack?" she asked.

"I already took care of that," he smiled, flicking the bedside table light on, "Just get on some shoes and go use the bathroom, okay? It's gonna be a long drive."

Axel nodded and pulled on her shoes, "I just want you to know I'm not exactly happy right now."

Dean kissed the top of her head, "I know, I'm sorry. Now go hurry and use the bathroom," he gently pushed her out of the room, taking a look around and grabbing anything else that they might need and stuffing it into the bags. He threw the duffel full of clothes over one shoulder, Axel's school bag over the other, and then picked up the stuffed toy dog that she's had since she was born before heading out to the Impala and tossing them in the back floorboard. Then he headed back inside to find Axel dozing on the couch.

"Axe," he clapped his hands together loudly to wake her up.

She startled and nearly fell off the couch, looking angrily at him.

"Get a move on," he barked, trying to keep the tension out of his voice.

She glared at him.

"Come on," he gently grabbed her arm and she trudged out to the Impala with him.

"Where's Uncle Sam?" she demanded as Dean opened the back door and ushered her in.

"He's inside," Dean explained.

"I thought he was coming with us?"

"Yes," Dean nodded, "Just get in the Impala, okay?" he was impatient, "You said you're tired, so you can lay down and sleep."

And though she was incredibly confused she did as her father said and got into the backseat and laid down. Dean handed her the stuffed dog toy and grabbed his jacket from the front seat to lay on her.

"I'll be right back," he told her, disappearing back into the bunker for a few minutes and then coming out carrying more bags and his brother behind him. They put the bags in the trunk and Dean got in to drive while Sam was on the passenger's side.

"We've got to stop by Axel's school."

"Why?" Sam inquired.

"Because if she just stops showing up they'll file a report or something. If I withdraw her myself we won't have to worry about police or whatever."

Sam nodded, "Good thinking."

A few minutes later Dean pulled up to the school and got out, "Axel, you wanna come inside?" he asked.

Quickly Axel got up and followed Dean into the school. It was still about a half an hour until the students would be showing up, but the office was open. There was a secretary at the front desk and she smiled when she saw Dean. Her name was Mandy and she and Dean had flirted on many occasions.

"Hi Dean," she smiled at him, "Hello Axel. How can I help you today?"

"I need to withdraw my daughter from school."

Immediately the smile faded from the woman's face, "Mind if I ask why?"

Dean scratched his head, "Yeah, my aunt is sick and I'm gonna be taking care of her. She lives a couple of states away, so I've gotta move out there for a little while."

Axel looked up at her father, completely confused as to what he was referring too, but something told her asking questions right now would be a bad idea.

Mandy frowned, "Well, that's too bad. I'll miss seeing you around."

"Right back at you," he winked playfully, "Kinda sucks, I was planning on asking you to accompany me to Axel's soccer game next week."

She blushed bright red, "I'll go get your paperwork," she smiled at him.

"I don't get to go to my soccer game?" she whined, "But I was so excited."

Dean looked apologetically at her but didn't say anything.

It took about a half of an hour to get everything settled but it all worked out and no one seemed suspicious of anything. So they hit the road and drove for a long time. Axel slept on and off and got increasingly cranky every time her dad refused to tell her where they were going. Truth was that Dean really wasn't sure. He was just going to drive until he was tired and then they were going to find a motel and figure some things out.

Axel was laying in the backseat under the cover of Dean's jacket and both men wrongly assumed that she was fast asleep when they started talking.

"You know," Dean gripped the steering wheel, "A life on the road isn't all that bad. I mean, think about all the cool stuff Axel's going to get to see that she wouldn't otherwise."

Sam scoffed, "Oh yeah, sure she won't have any permanent or long lasting friends, but she'll get to see the Grand Canyon and the largest ball of twine. That seems like a fair trade off."

"Sammy," Dean groaned.

"How long until you teach her how to shoot a gun?" Sam was baiting him, "She better start brushing up on her Latin just in case we need an emergency exorcism."

"Shut up," Dean groaned, "Just stop. She's not going to be a hunter. I'm not going to let that happen."

"Said the same thing with Imogen," Sam argued, "We both swore we would never let her kill anything. And you see how well that worked out?"

"I swear to God Sammy, if you don't shut up I'm going to clock you in the face."

"No you won't," Sam stated, "You wouldn't risk scaring Axel like that."

"So what, I'm gonna let her hunt monsters but punching someone who deserves it is out of the question?"

"I'm just saying-"

"Oh I know what you're saying," Dean snarled, "Axel is not Imogen. Imogen was born to hunt. Axel's way more fragile."

"Yeah, because she's been normal. Now you're changing everything."

Dean shook his head, "I'm keeping my daughter safe. Look, you didn't have to come."

Sam just rolled his eyes, "Hey, maybe we can go to Texas and see if Axel can eat a whole seventy-two ounce steak. I hear who ever can do it in under an hour gets a free T-shirt."

Dean scratched his stubbed, "That's actually not a bad idea."

"What?" Sam narrowed his eyes at his brother, "It was a joke. Hell, that steak would be bigger than Axel."

"Not the steak, idiot. I'm talking about Texas. Let's go to Texas."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because it's big," Dean nodded, pulling out his phone and mapping a course, "It's big and who the hell would look for us there?"

Sam sighed, "Fine, but we still need to get those invisible angel tattoo things."

Dean nodded, "First tattoo shop you see just say the word and I'll pull over."

Very slowly Axel reached down into her school bag and pulled out the golden amulet that she had planned to take to show and tell. It was attached to a black cord. She would have to hide this from her dad. Something told her that he might not like that she had it. So quickly she slipped it on over her head and tucked it into her shirt and then she sat up.

"Daddy?"

Dean glanced into the rearview mirror at Axel, "What's up?" he asked.

"Can we stop? I need to go to the bathroom."

"Sure kiddo, just as soon as I see a gas station. Are you hungry?"

"No," she shook her head.

"You sure?" he asked, "You haven't eaten anything all day."

"I'm sure," she confirmed and yawned, "Hey, where's that man in the coat?" she asked.

Dean had been waiting and was prepared for this, "What man?"

"Last night. He had bright blue eyes and he was in a long coat."

"Sweetheart, I've got no idea what you're talking about," he lied convincingly.

"But you told me he wouldn't hurt me, that he was good. And then he said I was protected or something. He had a deep voice. I remember."

"Kiddo, I think that was a dream."

"It wasn't!" she insisted.

"I think I would remember something like that."

Axel looked to Sam, "You remember right?"

Dean froze, keeping his eyes locked on the road.

"No Axe. I think your dad's right. I think that was a dream," he looked out his window.

"Oh," Axel nodded, "Okay," but she knew that something wasn't quite right about this whole situation especially after the odd conversation she had just pretended to not hear, "He had really pretty eyes"

Dean tensed, "I bet they weren't as pretty as yours," he smiled back at her, truth be told their eyes were perfectly identical.

"Are you sure you don't remember him?"

"Jesus Christ," Dean snapped angrily, "What's with all the questions?"

Axel flinched and sat back in her seat staring at her hands and willing herself not to cry, hugging her stuffed dog to her chest. Dean was always so kind and gentle with her. Now he was angry and raising his voice. He'd only done that a handful of times before, and that was only if Axel was in danger of hurting herself.

"Dean," Sam said under his breath.

Dean groaned, "I'm sorry kiddo. I'm just a little frustrated. I'm not mad at you I promise."

"Why don't you read your book?" Sam asked, knowing that Axel loved reading. It was her favorite way to pass the time. Sam had made sure of that.

"I didn't bring one."

"Why not?" Dean asked, "You always bring a book with you no matter where we are going."

"I don't know," she muttered.

"Well, we can stop by a bookstore," Sam offered, "Get you a couple of books."

"Okay," she sighed softly, "When are we going back home?"

There was a long silence, "I'm not sure," Dean finally answered.

They drove until it was starting to get dark outside and then Dean pulled into a motel, "Sammy, go get us a room," he stated.

Sam nodded and headed inside to get them a motel room.

Dean turned around to look at Axel, "How does pizza sound?" he questioned.

"I'm not hungry," she pouted.

"Come on," Dean pleaded with her, "I'll let you have a Coke with it if you promise to eat at least two slices."

He ears perked up. Dean never let her have soda, "Really?" she asked.

Dean nodded, "Sure, but don't get used to it."

A few minutes later Sam walked out with the room key. Dean grabbed the clothes bag and Axel's hand before following his brother to the room with two double beds.

"This place is gross," Axel whined, "Why do we have to stay here?"

"Because I'm exhausted," Dean explained, "And it was cheap. Don't forget you get pizza and Coke."

"You ordered pizza?" Sam asked, "When?"

"While Axe and I were waiting for you to get the room."

Sam nodded, "I'm going to go and take a shower. Anyone need to use the bathroom first?"

Axel nodded and hurried to the bathroom.

"I asked the service people to send us a rollaway bed," Sam looked cautiously at his brother.

"Why?" Dean asked, "There's two beds in here. That's plenty."

Sam frowned, "Dean, Axel's eleven years old. She probably should sleep in her own bed."

Dean frowned, "I feel safer having her next to me. Besides, she had her own bed back at the bunker. Her own room even, but she chose to sleep in my bed."

"Okay," Sam nodded, "It's just a little weird."

"How?" Dean asked, "It's not like I'm forcing her to sleep with me. Besides, Imogen was still sneaking into be with us up until she was like thirteen."

"Look, all I'm saying is maybe you should encourage her to sleep in her own bed. Just in case you're not around. I mean… you don't want her just sleeping in any man's bed, do you?"

Dean's face fell, "She's safer right next to me," he argued, "If she has a nightmare I'm there. If she gets up, so do I. I get to have my eyes on her at all times."

"I get that," Sam sighed, "Just, she should know that she has the option."

"You're an idiot."

"How?" Sam asked, "Because I don't want my niece so incredibly codependent on you that she can't sleep without you? I mean hell, you could die tomorrow and that girl would be torn to pieces because you do everything for her except wipe her ass."

Axel was staring at the men who hadn't yet noticed her, "Are you sick, Daddy?"

Dean shot his brother a bitch face, "No, sweetheart. Uncle Sam was just being stupid. I'm not going anywhere for a very long time."

Sam shook his head and headed to the bathroom for his shower.

Axel nodded and took a seat on Dean's bed, right next to him, "Hey Daddy. Can I ask you something?"

"Can it wait until tomorrow? I wanna get some sleep."

Axel frowned but nodded, "Okay," she sighed, "Can I watch TV?"

"Sure," Dean handed her the remote and lay back on the bed, "Don't answer the door or leave the room, okay?" he said to her, "If someone knocks wake me or your Uncle Sam. Understand?"

Axel nodded and started flipping through the channels, laying on her stomach so she was close to the television as her father snored. Eventually the pizza man came, Sam paid, he and Axel ate, and they both passed out.


	4. Chapter Three

Axel was the first one awake in the morning. She stumbled sleepily into the bathroom to relieve herself and then looked out the window. The sun had just started to come up and she yawned then noticed a line something white and grainy in the window sill.

"What the-" she put her hand on it and picked up a pinch of it and pulled it closer to inspect, "Sugar?" she whispered, then put her tongue on it to taste it and made a face, "Salt," she dropped the rest of it on the ground and left the bathroom.

Her father and uncle were still asleep in the main room so Axel looked around for her backpack. Sam had bought her a book late yesterday at one of the gas stations they had stopped at and now she was bored and wanted to read it, when she couldn't find it in her backpack she figured it must still be in the Impala. She tiptoed to the door and silently opened it and slipped out of the room in search of the car, which was parked around the back of the building.

Less than a minute after Axel had left the room Dean had rolled over in the bed and realized he was alone in it. He slowly sat up and yawned, not thinking much of it since Axel tended to get up and go to the bathroom once or twice a night. But his gaze landed on the bathroom door that was open and the light was off. Quickly Dean got off the bed and went to inspect. He flipped the light on in the empty bathroom, and while he didn't find Axel he did notice that the salt line in the window was broken.

He couldn't breathe and he started to shake as he turned and dashed back to the bed to grab his shoes, "Sammy!" he barked loudly, "Get up, now."

Sam heard the panic in his brother's voice and bolted upright, "What's wrong?" he demanded, immediately pulling on his shoes as well.

"Axel's gone," Dean informed him, "Salt line in the bathroom is broken. I'll pull the car around, you get ready," Dean said, grabbing his keys off of the bedside table and bolting out the door and sprinting to the back parking lot where he had left the Impala the night before.

He stopped to catch his breath, his car in sight, and then saw one of the back doors open and Axel climbing out of the car. He breathed a sigh of relief and then he trotted over to her. She hadn't heard him approach and he grabbed her arm roughly and turned her around.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" he yelled, breathing heavily.

Axel tensed up and dropped her book on the ground, her mouth hanging open, "I- just, I-" she stuttered, completely shocked by the anger coming off of her father.

"I told you NOT to leave the room," his voice got louder, "Do you have any idea how scared I was? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?"

She couldn't speak.

"Come on," Dean grunted, slammed the car door, and without allowing her to retriever her book, roughly pulled her back to the room where Sam was standing at the entrance.

"You found her?" relief washed over Sam, "Thank God."

Dean drug her inside and pushed her to the bed, "You sit there and you don't get up, understand me?"

She just nodded, looking down at her lap, her whole body shaking.

"I cannot believe you would do that, Axel. I thought I could trust you."

"You can," her voice was barely audible.

"Obviously I can't!" he snapped at her, "Because you pull crap like this."

"Okay, that's enough," Sam grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him outside, shutting the door behind them, "You need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Dean was wide eyed, "I need to calm down? She could have gotten herself killed."

"But she didn't," Sam argued, "You said she's protected, so nobody knows that she's here."

Dean narrowed his eyes at his brother, "I'm not even talking about monsters and demons, Sammy. I'm talking about the creepy bastards that might have been at this motel. Some pedophile could have seen her and snatched her and done god knows what to her."

"Okay, you're right," Sam agreed, "But go easy on her. She doesn't know what's going on," he took a breath, "Look, you took her away from everything she knows. She's not used to living on the road with us. She doesn't know the rules."

Dean shook his head, "I'm just trying to keep her safe, Sam. That's all that I'm trying to do."

"I know. And you've done a damn good job because Axel doesn't see the danger and the evil in the world. She only sees the good, because you've protected her from all of it. She doesn't see all the threats because you shielded her from it," Sam sighed, "Do you get what I'm saying?"

Dean nodded slightly, "Yeah, I'm a pretty great dad," he joked.

"You should go inside and talk to her," Sam said with a roll of his eyes, "I'll go get some breakfast."

Dean nodded and tossed Sam the car keys before heading into the room. Axel was face down on the bed and was quietly crying into the pillow. Dean sat next to her and gently rubbed her back.

"Hey, Axe. Can you sit up and talk to me for a minute."

"No," her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Sweet heart," he looked down at her, "I'm sorry. I overreacted. You just… you don't know the things that are out there. Bad people. Bad things," he sighed, "I just don't know what I would do if I lost you. Baby girl, you're everything to me."

"I'm sorry," she replied, her face still in the pillow, "I thought it would be okay, I was just going to get my book."

"I know," he lay back on the bed next to her, "Things are gonna be different now. You can't go anywhere without me or Sam. We have to know where you are at all times."

Finally she looked up from the pillow, her face red from crying, "Why?" she asked, "Used to I could go on walks and stuff at home."

"We're not at home anymore," he said, locking eyes with her, "And we're not safe anymore."

"Is someone looking for us?"

Dean sighed, "I don't know."

"Is it the man in the trench coat? Is he bad? I though he was your friend."

"Axe, that man wasn't real," Dean insisted, "I told you that was a dream."

Axel lay her head down but still looked at her father, "When are we going home?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied, "Not any time soon."

"Are you gonna be working with Uncle Sam?" Axel asked, "Killing bugs?"

Dean sighed guiltily, he'd been lying to Axel for as long as he could remember. She didn't know it was monsters and not bugs that Sam killed, "Axel, I love you."

"I love you too," she replied.

"You should take a shower and get dressed. When Sam gets back we're going to hit the road."

Axel nodded and got off the bed and made her way back into the bathroom, she started to close the door when Dean stopped her.

"Hang on," he said, walking over to the window and fixing the broken salt line, "Don't mess with that, okay?"

"Why?" the young girl asked, "Why's there salt there?"

It would have been so much easier just to lie to her, but he couldn't do it anymore, "It's for protection," Dean stated.

"From what?"

"Axe, I'll tell you when you need to know. Until then just humor me. Please?"

Though she wanted to argue and get all of the answers, more than anything she just didn't want to fight with him so she nodded, "Okay, Daddy," and shut the bathroom door with him on the other side and went to take her shower. She was upset and confused just wanted to go home and for things to go back to the way they were. She wanted to go to school and see her friends, but she wasn't going to get that, not right now anyways.

While Axel was in the shower Dean started packing up what they had laying around the room and he put the bag on the chair so they could just grab it on the way out. A few minutes later Sam walked back in the room and tossed Dean a breakfast burrito.

Dean smiled as he unwrapped it and took a big bite, "You know just how to please me, Sammy Boy."

Sam rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed, "Axel's in the shower?" he questioned.

Dean nodded, "Yep," he answered, egg dropping out of his mouth.

"Check out's in like twenty minutes. She better hurry."

Dean laughed, "Yeah, try telling her that. Girl takes the longest showers."

Sam smirked, "Remind you of anyone?"

"Yeah… You when you were discovering your body."

Sam rolled his eyes, "No, Dean. I seem to remember many screaming fights between you and our sister about appropriate shower times."

Dean half smiled but then his face fell, "Yeah, I see a lot of Imogen in that girl," he admitted reluctantly, "I mean, hell I wish I didn't. I wish I didn't see her at all but I do."

"Well, if it makes you feel better Axel looks absolutely nothing like Imogen. Just acts a hell of a lot like her."

"That's true. She's like a much prettier twin of Cas," he sighed, "Axel's a lot like her mother, but the kid actually listens when I talk. Em, she did whatever the hell she wanted."

Sam chucked, "You raised Axe since she was a baby. You got to form her. Imogen came to us ornery as hell."

"You got that right," Dean sighed, "Sammy, what do I tell Axe? I mean, do I tell her about monsters and demons and stuff? Or do I just keep her in the dark?" he shook his head, "I wanna keep her safe, but is telling her more dangerous or what? I'm so conflicted."

Sam was silent for sever moments and he sighed, "I don't know, Dean. But," he sighed softly, "If you're going to be honest with her I think you've got to fully come clean. About her mother, everything."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose, "She's too young for all of that. She won't understand."

"You give that girl far too little credit, Dean. She was reading at a fifth grade level when she was three."

"That's because you taught her," Dean took deep breath, "Maybe you should tell her. She'll take it better from you."

"Oh hell no," Sam shook his head, "You're her daddy. You get to do the hard stuff. I'm the cool uncle who gets to do the fun stuff."

Dean groaned and lay back on the bed, "It was real fucked up of our sister to leave me with this."

"Well, you made a choice. Now you've got to make another one."

"Yeah, well the choice to take care of that little baby was easy. I mean, actually doing it was a pain in the ass, but the choice was easy. This on the other hand," he sighed, "I don't know if I'm protecting her by lying to her or helping her."

"I don't know either," Sam agreed, "But whatever decision you make, I've got your back."

Dean nodded and sat back up, "I know you do Sammy."

"Just let me know what you do before you do it. Because if I have a crying and confused niece I need to console I've got to have chocolate ready for her."

The older brother rolled his eyes, "You're shameless," then he paused, "You know, I don't remember ever telling Imogen that monsters were real. I mean, I remember when we were kids and you figured it out," he shrugged, "But I don't remember telling our sister."

Sam thought about it for a minute, "I don't either," he shrugged, "I mean, she was so young when she came to live with us and we never hid it from her. She grew up hearing us talk about hunts and ganking monsters, it was just part of her life."

Dean chuckled, "I have a confession to make," he looked at his brother.

"What's that?"

"Since Axe was a little girl she's loved hearing bed time stories. And by the time she was two I was so sick of those stupid fairy tales. She'd want to hear them over and over again until she fell asleep, I had them all memorized, but damn it was annoying," he sighed, "So one night I said to hell with it and started telling her stories from our hunting days."

Sam's eyebrows came together in confusion, "You what?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "I just told her a bunch of stories. You know, I made them a little more kid friendly, but yeah. She loved it. She loved that you and I were the center of it."

"So then she knows?"

"Well, yeah but she thinks I made them all up, like other fairy tales," Dean shrugged, "One of her favorites is the one I told her about you getting married to Becky in Vegas."

"Dude, I was drugged!" Sam's face fell, "You told her about that?"

Dean nodded, "Oh yeah, I've told her lots of embarrassing stuff about you."

"You tell her it's fiction though, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded smugly, "But it's not."

Sam groaned, "Like, how did you even tell her that? Did you tell her about the Supernatural novels?"

Dean shook his head, "Nah, just that you had a stalker who put a spell on you. I, of course, saved the day."

"Yeah, I bet you save the day in a lot of your stories."

Dean nodded, "Most of them. Except of course the one where you stuffed the devil back in the cage."

"You told her that?"

"Yes sir," Dean smiled, "That one is her absolute favorite. She still asks me to tell it when she's sick or she can't sleep."

Sam smiled, "How come you never told me this?"

"Dunno," Dean said with a shrug, "Guess I didn't want you to tell me it was a bad idea."

"It was a bad idea," Sam acknowledged, "But I think it'll make telling her the truth a hell of a lot easier."

"Yeah," Dean sighed, "I think so too."

"Hey, Dean. I know that Cas said Axel was protected from demons and angels being able to locate her, but what's to stop a random demon who just happens upon her from cramming itself down her throat?"

Dean paused and scratched at the stubble on his chin, "That's a good question. Cas didn't say that she couldn't be possessed. Guess she needs some protection."

"Well, it's not like we can get her one of these," he patted his chest where his anti-possession tattoo was.

"True," Dean nodded, "Can't ink up an eleven-year-old. Though that would be the best way," he shook his head, "No, can't do that."

"What about mom's old charm bracelet?" he asked.

"I don't have that," Dean looked at his brother, "I never had that."

"I know," Sam nodded, "But there's got to be others out there like it. Let's find a hunters shop and buy something like it."

Dean nodded, "Sounds good. Maybe there will be someone there that can ink us up with the anti-angel stuff. You go make some calls, find out where the nearest place is, and I'll hurry Axel up before they charge us for another night."

Sam nodded and headed out of the room to make the calls.

Dean walked over to the bathroom door and gently knocked, "You okay in there, kiddo?"

"I'm fine," she said, shutting the water off, "I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay, hurry up. We have to hit the road."

He grabbed up the bags and took them out to the Impala, which was now parked right in front of their room, and loaded them into the Impala.

"I talked to my friend Olivia. She's lives a couple hours from here so she knows the area. She's sending me an address of a hunter friendly store that's not far from her and there's also a tattoo shop nearby that's also run by a hunter. She says if we use her name they'll be friendly."

Dean smirked, "Olivia… She sounds hot."

"She's seventy-five."

The older brother narrowed his eyes, "Didn't know you were into cougars, Sammy."

Sam rolled his eyes, "She's a psychic. I met her a few years back… and I was stuck on a case in town and hitting up any and all leads. There was a monster that was eating families and I saved her granddaughters life, didn't get to her daughter soon enough though. But ever since then if I need help with anything she lends a hand."

"So she's got a granddaughter," Dean smirked, "She sounds hot."

Sam groaned, "She's eight. Got anything else to say?"

Dean threw his head back and let out an annoyed yell, "Why don't you know any sexy people anymore Sammy?"

Sam just rolled his eyes and smiled when Axel came out of the room, "Thank God you're here," he groaned dramatically to the young girl, "Your dad was just about to drive me crazy. Let's get out of here."

Axel laughed and held her stuffed dog in her hand.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Dean asked, looking suspiciously at her.

"Yes," she replied, looking straight at him.

"Really?" the man smirked knowingly, "Because I'm pretty sure your toothbrush is," he reached into his bag and pulled out her toothbrush, "Right here."

Axel groaned loudly, "I hate brushing my teeth," she whined, snatching the toothbrush from him and stomping back into the room to do it.

"Yeah, you know what you'll hate more," he called to her, "All your teeth rotting out."

Sam chuckled softly so that the girl wouldn't hear, "You know, you're really not bad at the whole being a dad thing."

"You think?" Dean asked, "I'm pretty sure that kid would disagree," he stated, pointing in Axel's direction.

"Please," Sam chuckled, "She'll thank you one day. Remember how much I hated brushing my teeth? If it hadn't been for you it never would have gotten done and all my teeth would have fallen out. Imogen too. We were both bad about it."

Dean smirked, "Well, what can I say? I might be an asshole, but at least I'm a consistent asshole," he paused, "And hey, dental hygiene is important and dentists are expensive."

Sam just chuckled and got in the car ready to go.

Dean took this opportunity to go back inside and use the restroom. When he was done he walked back into the room where Axel was finishing up her teeth.

"You ready?" he asked.

She rinsed out her mouth and turned to him, "Daddy, I had a question for you last night. You said you were too tired and to ask you today."

Dean nodded, "Okay, what's up?"

"I head you and Uncle Sam in the car yesterday talking about someone named Imogen. Who's that?"

Dean found himself slowly sitting down on the bed. He had thought she had been asleep for that, "Oh," he scratched his head, the nervous energy was making him start to sweat, "Imogen was my sister," he finally stated.

"I have an aunt? How come I never met her?"

"She died," He admitted.

A look of sadness washed over the young girl, "How come you never told me?"

He shrugged, "She died before you had a chance to know her. Thought it would be pointless to make you sad over something you never had," he sighed, "Can we go? We're burning daylight."

Axel just nodded. She wanted to press for more details but her father's mood today let her know that probably wasn't the best idea right now. She would have to try again later.


	5. Chapter Four

"Daddy, it's too hot," the young girl whined, sprawled across the back seat.

"I know, Axe," he groaned, his hands tightening on the steering wheel, "God knows I know. You've told me that over and over since we got into Texas. I know it's hot," he was grinding his teeth to keep from screaming, "But like I've told you over and over again, I'm not God and I don't control the weather so there's no way that I can make it not hot," his voice was strained, trying with all his might to keep his calm.

Sam looked at his stressed out brother and then back at his restless niece, "Hey, Axel, you're gonna get to meet a very good friend of mine."

"Huh?" she asked, sitting up and peeling her sweaty clothes away from her body.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "She's really cool. She can read minds."

Axel shook her head, "No way."

Sam smiled and nodded, "Yes way. She'll prove it too. Just you wait and see. She's also got a granddaughter not too much younger than you, maybe the two of you can hang out together."

"Are we going to this lady's house?" Dean asked his brother, "I thought we were just going to a shop."

Sam shrugged, "I figured we would go check in on them. Whenever I'm in town I make it a habit to stop by. Olivia always cooks dinner and they've got a spare room, so we could lay low there for a couple of days until we figure out our next move."

Dean smirked, "I knew you had a thing going with the old lady."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Really? In front of your daughter?"

Axel giggled.

"Okay Sammy, we'll go check on your girlfriend. But if she gets frisky with me I'm leaving you there."

"She really does read minds, Dean. So watch what you think around her."

A chuckle escaped the oldest of the Winchester, "How far away are we anyways?"

Sam checked the road signs as they were passing, "That sign says we're fifty miles from Fort Worth, and Olivia lives just outside of there so a half hour maybe," Sam said with a nod, "We've made really good time, Dean. I mean hell, we left Oklahoma City like less than three hours ago."

"Yeah well," Dean flicked his eyes to the sweaty child in the back, "Feels like a hell of a lot longer," he grumbled.

Sam looked at Dean, "I know you don't know them, but these are good people," he spoke quietly, "We'll be safe there… She will be safe there. I can promise you that."

"No you can't," Dean replied, keeping his voice low as well, "No one can promise anything. I'm sure these are good people, but Sammy you know as well as I do that the people around us get hurt. I'd hate to see that happen here."

"It'll be okay, Dean," Sam assured his brother, "I know it will."

Dean just sighed and pulled the car into the next available gas station. The tank was running low and Dean didn't want to worry about running out. Axel slid herself out of the car and started to head inside while Dean was pumping.

"Hey," Dean called to her, "Where do you think you're going?"

Axel turned to look at her father, "I need to pee," she informed him loudly.

"Well, wait for me to finish here and I'll go inside with you."

Axel rolled her eyes, "I can go pee by myself."

Dean looked at her, "Axel," his jaw tightened, "Wait for me."

In an instant Sam was up out of the car, "I'll go with her," he said to Dean, hurrying over to his niece.

"Hey," Dean called, tossing Sam his wallet, "Get me some jerky. I'm starving."

Sam caught the wallet and nodded, following Axel inside and waiting outside the door for her to finish. He wasn't going to go inside the restroom with her, but he was going to listen closely. If he didn't something would happen and Dean would never forgive him. But as expected everything was fine and she came out in one piece.

"God Uncle Sam," she scoffed, "Such a weirdo, listening to me pee."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Such attitude from someone who still sleeps with her daddy and her stuffed dog," he teased playfully. But her face fell the second the words came out his mouth and he instantly regretted it, "I'm sorry. I was just kidding," he sighed and guided her towards the snack foods, "What kind of jerky do you think your dad wants?"

Axel had her arms wrapped around herself as she looked at the jerky and shrugged her shoulders.

"Axel," he sighed and knelt down so that he was eye level with her, his hands gently holding her arms so that she was facing him, "I'm sorry. That was mean of me and I shouldn't have said it, but," he sighed, "But nothing. I really am sorry."

Axel bit her lip and sighed, "You're right," she said quietly, looking down at her feet, "I'm just a little baby."

"No you're not," Sam argued, "I'm so sorry."

She jerked her arms away from him and turned and hurried out the door. Sam started to go after her, but he could see her from the store window and she just ran straight to Dean who immediately put his arms around her to calm her.

Sam grabbed a couple of things of jerky and some candy and paid for it before heading back out to the car. Axel was already in the car and Dean was sticking the nozzle back in the gas pump and he turned to Sam when he heard him approaching.

"What the hell did you do to my kid?" Dean asked, annoyed and confused.

"Nothing," Sam sighed, "I just, well I know how you felt now."

"What?" Dean said, shaking his head.

"You know, when Imogen was a kid and you'd accidentally hurt her feelings and she would come crying to me. I always thought you were an ass, but now I get that girls are just sensitive."

Dean shook his head, "You're an ass, Sammy. I've gotta go pee," he looked at his brother, "You're sitting in the back."

"What?" Sam asked, "No way. I don't even fit back there."

"Should have thought about that before you made my baby cry," he smirked as he headed inside, "I'll be right back."

Sam groaned as he got into the back seat of the Impala with the bag of food he had bought inside. He tossed Dean's wallet up front where Axel was sitting, ignoring him, before he pulled out a chocolate bar.

"Hmmm," Sam leaned forward so his head was in the middle of the front seat and his arm was extended up there, "I got this chocolate bar, too bad I don't have anyone to share it with."

Still the girl ignored him.

He pretended to examine the wrapper, "Oh dang. It's got caramel in it. I don't like caramel. I guess I could just throw it out since I'm not going to eat it," he paused, "Unless there's someone else in the car who might like to have it. Hell, they can have it free of charge, all they have to do is ask."

She twitched. She was a sucker for chocolate.

"They don't even have to accept my apology for being a jerk. They can still be mad at me, I deserve it. Just have to look me in the eye and say please."

She tried not to but she cracked a smile. Stubborn as hell, just like someone else Sam had known.

"Huh," he scratched his head, "Guess no one else likes chocolate. I'll just throw it out," he leaned back in his seat and started to roll down the window.

"Wait!" Axel finally blurted, and the defeat on her face was obvious.

Sam grinned ear to ear, "Did I hear something?"

"I want it," Axel turned to look at her uncle, "Can I have it, please?" she asked sweetly.

Sam chuckled and handed it to her, "Sure thing, kiddo."

In an instant the wrapper was off and she had devoured it, the remnants on her hands and face.

"Thank you, Uncle Sammy."

Sam smiled and sat back, "You're welcome," and just like that he knew all was forgiven.

Dean came back out to the Impala just moments later and started it up, "Axe, seatbelt," he told her, then saw her face, "What, were you rooting around in poop while I was gone?" he asked, looking around for a napkin and finding one on the floor and wiping her face, "Geeze kid, you've gotta learn how to eat without getting it all over yourself."

"Please," Sam scoffed, "Dean, I've seen you eat. You're worse."

Dean was wiping the chocolate off of her face when she pulled away and snatched the napkin from him, "I can do it," she barked angrily, looking in the mirror in cleaning herself up, "I'm not a baby," she muttered under her breath.

"Okay geeze," Dean said, backing off and putting the car in gear and pulling out onto the road, "Sammy, do you know where we're going?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "Now was a hell of a time to throw me in the back."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Just give me directions, that's your only job."

Twenty minutes later they were pulling down a long dusty road out in the middle of nowhere through some trees and what not until they reached a clearing where a house sat.

"Wow, Sammy," Dean stated as he parked the car, "You keep your little family away from society?"

Sam rolled his eyes and clambered out of the back seat, "Shut up, Dean," he slowly got out of the car and stood up to stretch as he closed the door.

Dean smirked and shut off the car, "You ready?" he asked, turning to look at Axel, "Don't worry kid, Sammy says these are good people."

"But what if he's wrong?" she asked, "What if they're not good?"

"Then we'll leave," he patted her knee, "You know that I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, right?"

Axel nodded.

"So why are you so worried?" he asked softly.

"Uncle Sammy said the lady can read minds. I never met anyone like that before."

Dean nodded, "Don't worry about it too much," he assured her, "There's lots of people in the world who can do crazy stuff, but that doesn't make them bad. Just different."

"Daddy," she took a breath, "What if she thinks I'm bad?"

Dean frowned and met his daughter's eyes, "Why would she think that?"

"I don't know," Axel looked away.

Gently Dean put his hand under her chin and turned her to look at him, "Talk to me kiddo. Why would she think you're bad?" he kept his composure, but something in her voice was troubling him deeply.

"I just," she looked away again, "Sometimes I have bad thoughts."

"Oh, sweet heart," he rubbed her shoulder, "We all have bad thoughts sometimes."

"We do?" Axel asked, looking back at him, "Even you?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, of course. It's part of being human. Like back at that gas station, I wanted to punch Sammy right in his stupid mouth for upsetting you."

Her face fell, and Dean didn't know why, but she nodded and got out of the car. Dean let it go and got out too.

"So are they here?" Dean asked his brother.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know," he said, slowly walking up to the door and knocking, "If not they will be soon," a long few minutes passed and no one answered.

"Oh great," Dean groaned, "Now we get to sit outside in the burning hot ass sun and wait five years for them to get here and let us in."

Sam just rolled his eyes and pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door.

"What, do you live here? Is this where you stay when you're not at the bunker?"

"No Dean," Sam groaned, ushering his family members inside, "These people, well they're kind of like family."

"What about me and Axe?" Dean asked, guiding his daughter into the air conditioned house, "I thought we were your family."

"Oh my God Dean, quit acting like a jealous girlfriend," Sam shut the door behind them and took a seat in a chair.

"It feels good in here," Axel stated, happily sitting down on the couch.

"You can say that again," Dean sat next to his daughter on the couch and put a protective arm around her, staring suspiciously at his brother in the dimly lit room.

This was going to be an interesting experience that was for sure


	6. Chapter Five

It wasn't long until the owners of the house showed up and Sam made sure to introduce everyone.

"It's so nice to meet you, I'm Olivia," the frail woman smiled, shaking Dean's hand, "I'm sorry we weren't in when you all arrived, my granddaughter Azrael and I were out getting supplies to make a nice dinner for our guests."

Dean smiled charmingly, "We don't want to be a bother."

"Oh nonsense," the woman waved him off, "It's so rare that we get to entertain. Please, it's our pleasure. Isn't that right Azzy?"

Azrael smiled and nodded, taking the bags into the kitchen.

Olivia slowly lowered herself to Axel's level and held out her hand to shake, which Axel did. The woman firmly gripped Axel's hand and lay her other over the back of it too so that Axel's hand was fully incased in her own and the two locked eyes. Neither spoke or said anything for several very uncomfortable moments before finally breaking apart.

"You must be Axel," she said as Sam helped her back into an upright position, "Sam has told me so much about you."

"Oh?" Axel asked, feeling a little insecure.

Dean too was feeling weird so he stepped a little closer to his daughter and put a protective arm around her, "All good things I hope."

"Of course," the woman smiled at Dean, "Samuel makes you sound like an angel the way he talks of you," she looked at Axel and then back to Dean, "I think he's right," though Axel wouldn't pick up on it, Dean was sure of a double entendre.

Azrael came back into the room and smiled at Axel, "I've got lots of fun stuff in my room if you want to come play," she looked up at her grandma, "Is that okay?"

"Of course, darling," she gently patted her head, "You girls have fun. I'll get to work on dinner."

Axel looked up to Dean for permission and when he nodded she started to follow Azrael who looked up at Sam.

"It's good to see you again, Uncle Sam," she said as she put her arms around him and hugged him.

Sam gently patted her back and avoided the death stares he was getting from his brother and his biological niece, "Good to see you too, Azzy. You girls have fun," he said uncomfortably.

The girls both went into the back room.

"Now," Olivia smiled at them, "Why don't you boys go into town and run your errands while I cook?"

Sam nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

"Okay," Dean scratched his head, "Let me just go and get Axel."

Olivia shook her head, "Nonsense, I'll keep an eye on the girls. I'm sure they will be no trouble at all."

"Oh," Dean fidgeted, "Miss, I can't expect you to watch my kid. I mean, she's a handful."

Sam frowned, "Dean, c'mon. We can't take Axe to a tattoo shop. She'll be fine here."

A knowing look came over the elderly woman's face, "Dean, I have to say, I can read your mind so I do know what you're truly thinking. So please if you wouldn't mind, speak honestly about your feelings, as I know them already anyways."

Dean glared at his brother then looked back to Olivia, "All due respect ma'am, I don't ever leave Axel with anyone," he paused, "Except Sam occasionally, and school but that's it. And it's nothing personal," he shrugged, "She's just everything to me."

Olivia smiled brightly at the man, "I completely understand," she said with a nod, "But rest assured no harm will come to your child while in my care. She's safe as long as she is in my house."

"And I'm sure she is," Dean said with a nod, "I just don't know you all that well."

"Dean," Sam groaned, "I know her. I can vouch for her. Isn't my word enough for you?"

Dean shot his brother a bitch face and sighed, "Fine," he agreed reluctantly, "I'm just gonna tell her the plan," he said, turning on his heel and walking down the hall, following the sound of the giggling girls.

As soon as Dean was out of ear shot Olivia turned to Sam, "I'm glad you finally brought her," she spoke softly, "I've wanted to meet the child of an angel and a human for as long as I've known she existed. It's a very rare occurrence, forbidden is my understanding."

Sam shifted from one foot to another, "She's not an angel," the long-haired man stated, "Castiel was a human when he got my sister pregnant."

"Yes," she nodded, "Which makes this creation a one of a kind. Miraculous to say the least."

Dean knocked lightly on Azrael's door and it was cracked open so he pushed it the rest of the way and looked at the kids, "Uh, Axe," he looked at her, "Sammy and I are gonna go in to town for a couple of hours. Do you think you'll be okay to stay here for a bit?"

Axel looked suspiciously at her father but nodded, "Is everything okay?"

"Absolutely," Dean smiled at her, "Do you need me to pick you up anything?"

Axel thought about that for a moment, "Oh, can you get a postcard?"

Dean raised an eyebrow, "What? Why?"

"I wanna send it to Janet. From school," she stated, "I want to let her know where I am."

Dean smiled sadly and nodded, though truth be told he wouldn't let her send any kind of a paper trail, but it was too soon to tell her any of that, "Okay, kiddo," he sighed, knowing later he would just have to pretend like he had forgotten to pick one up, "Can your old man get a hug before he leaves?"

Axel nodded and stood up walking across the room and wrapping her arms around her father, "I love you, Daddy."

Dean hugged her back and kissed the top of her head, "I'll be back as soon as possible," he assured her before pulling his cellphone out of his pocket and handing it to her, "Here, if you need me call Sam. I'll be with him."

Axel nodded and slipped the phone in her own pants pocket.

"I'll miss you, kiddo," he said, lingering in the doorway, she looked so innocent and young. Had her mother ever been that young?

She smiled at him, "See you later."

Dean sighed and nodded, turning and walking out of the room, "Let's go, Sammy," he said gruffly, heading out to the car, his brother right behind him.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked once they were inside the car together and Dean was driving erratically.

"Nothing," the older brother muttered.

"Something," Sam insisted, "C'mon, what's up?"

Dean sighed, "It's just, it's like she doesn't need me anymore."

Sam kept from chuckling, "Ah, she's growing up."

"Hell, it's like she never needed me. I mean, she leaves me all the damn time and doesn't bat an eye. She started school and I was the one destroyed. She didn't give a damn. And now I left her in the care of some strange old lady and again, doesn't bother her one bit. She's so damn independent and it drives me crazy."

"Well," Sam sighed, "I mean, isn't that better than the alternative? Her being too scared to leave your side."

"I guess," Dean muttered, "I dunno. I mean, it would be nice if it felt like she even wanted me around. Hell, when Imogen was her age she would cry if one of us left to even go to the damn store. And while that was sad, it was also kinda nice knowing she loved us that much that she didn't want to be away from us."

"Dean, I know you don't believe it, but you're raising Axel a hundred times better than you did Imogen. Hell, because you've done such a good job taking care of Axel she's not afraid. She's like the most secure kid I've ever met."

Dean was silent.

"Look, all I'm saying is she trusts you. So she automatically trusts anyone you tell her to trust."

"I know," Dean sighed, "And I know you say these are good people, but I just feel weird leaving her."

"Well, like you said you've never left her with anyone before," Sam paused, "She never asked to go to like sleepovers or birthday parties or anything?"

Dean sighed, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove, "I mean, she's been invited and god knows I've taken her to tons of birthday parties. Damn kid has too many friends, but I always hang out at the parties until it's time to leave," he shook his head, "She's never really asked to go to sleep overs. Like she's been invited, but she never expressed any interest in staying the night at anyone else's house," Dean shrugged, "I'm glad for that too, because I don't know how I would have handled that."

"Have you even spent a night away from her?"

Dean shook his head, "Nope. Not one. And hell, almost every single one of those nights we've slept in the same bed."

Sam paused, "Okay, so," he ran a hand through his own hair, a little uncomfortable about the next question he was going to ask, "What about sex?"

Dean's eyes went wide as he glanced to Sam and then back to the road, "Excuse me?"

"You and Axel sleep in the same bed every night, so when do you find time to have sex? And where, for that matter?"

"Ya' know what, Sammy. I really don't want to talk about this with you."

"Why not?" the younger brother asked, "We're both adults."

Dean sighed and shook his head, "I guess I don't."

"Don't have sex?" Sam questioned, "Really?"

He shrugged, "Not really. I don't really have the opportunity. I'm always with Axel, and when I'm not with her I'm busy worrying about her. That's not really a turn on for women… I don't think anyways."

"Wow," Sam said, "I just, I'm having a hard time believing that."

"Why?" Dean asked, "I devote like every spare moment to my kid. I don't really have the time or opportunity to be out picking up chicks."

"So, you haven't had sex since Axel was born?"

A loud groan escaped Dean, "I had sort of a friends with benefits thing going with a girl I worked with at the bar right after I started working there, but she quit and yeah. Nothing since then."

"And how long ago was that?" Sam asked.

"Axe was still in kindergarten," Dean admitted reluctantly.

"Wow."

"Don't judge me," Dean barked, "While you're off living the good life I've been busting my ass making what you described as the most secure kid you have ever met."

"I'm not judging," Sam defended, "I'm just… I dunno, Dean. Axel can't be your only friend."

Dean frowned, "She's not. I've got you. And about six-hundred soccer moms, who just loved me."

"How come you didn't deal in the MILF action?" Sam asked crudely.

Dean made a face, "Because I had to deal with those women all the time, and you know how women talk. It would have ended up being a whole big thing and I didn't want a bunch of bullshit jealously and drama."

Sam nodded, "I get that," he paused, "What about Melody? I mean you two seemed to be going in that direction for a while."

Dean sighed. Melody had been a single mother that was one of the first parents that Dean had met while Axel was still a baby. They had been in a playgroup together and the kids bonded and so did they. There was something more between them and they both knew it.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Dean stated, "Melody put her kid in private school and Axel was in public, so we just kind of drifted apart."

"Okay but-"

"No, Sammy. Enough. We left town anyways. It doesn't matter. Can we just drop it?"

"Okay fine," Sam sighed, "It's dropped."

"Thank you," he said, pulling the impala into the hunter friendly shop that he had been given directions to from the GPS, "Who are these people, Sammy? And why didn't you mention them before now? I mean hell, you have a key to their place."

Sam sighed, "Like I told you, I saved the little girl's life. Ever since then we kind of look out for each other. They're family. Dean, you know I wouldn't leave Axel with just anyone. These are good people."

"I just don't get it," Dean barked unhappily, "Why didn't you say anything before now? Why have you never mentioned these people before?"

Sam sighed and looked away, "Honestly?"

"No Sammy. I want you to lie to me."

"Dean, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to upset you. I mean, you didn't like me hunting at all. I knew it would hurt you even more if you knew I had friends. So I let you just think I was lonely and miserable on the road."

Dean glared at his brother, "Are you serious?"

Sam shrugged.

"You sound like a guy who's justifying cheating on his wife," Dean shook his head, "I'm not your wife Sam and you should have told me. You know how many times I was freaking out because you hadn't called me back? How many times I thought you might be dead on a hunt. Damn, it would have been nice to know there was someone I could check in with about you," he let out a low sigh.

Sam looked at his brother, "So you say you're not my wife but then you go on for five minutes about how I don't call you enough."

Dean let out a loud groan, "Oh my god Sam."

"I'm serious Dean, ever since you became a dad it's like I don't even know who you are."

"Well, that's what happens," Dean barked, "While you were off playing with demons I was changing diapers and singing the ABCs. One of us had to do it."

Sam shook his head, "Dean, you're the one who Imogen left the baby to. You're the one who decided that you were going to stop hunting and leave Axel in the dark. That was all your decision. I had no say in the matter."

"I'm not getting in to this," Dean sighed, "What's with that little girl?" he asked, "She's like weirdly obedient. What's her name?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Azrael."

"Isn't that like an angel of death or something? Who the hell named her?"

"They're a very spiritual family," Sam stated, "Twelve generations of psychics."

"So the little girl's a mind reader too?"

"Don't know yet," Sam stated, "But her mother was, her grandmother, and her great grandmother, so on and so forth. So she probably is too. Her gift could develop at any time in the next few years."

Dean nodded, "And she calls you Uncle Sam? You know that broke poor Axel's heart."

Sam sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I feel really bad about that," he admitted, "I never really expected them to meet, so it never seemed like her calling me that would be an issue."

"Well, they did. And it is."

"Hopefully they'll become friends and it won't matter," Sam offered, "Now let's hurry up and get this crap over with so we can get back," then his phone started to ring so he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID, "Why are you calling me?" he asked, looking to Dean who's number had just appeared on his phone.

Quickly Dean grabbed the phone from his brother, "It's Axel. I gave her my phone," he said before answering it and putting it up to his ear, "Hey baby girl. It's Daddy. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said quietly, "Just wanted to know when you're coming back."

"As soon as I can," he stated, "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, Daddy. I'm fine. Do you think you could bring me back some medicine? My tummy is really upset."

"Yeah kiddo," Dean sighed, "Did you ask Olivia if she had anything?"

"No, I don't wanna bother her."

"Well, if you wanna take her the phone I'll ask her."

"No," Axel sighed, "It's okay. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," there was a short pause, "It's weird being in a strangers house without you or Uncle Sam."

"Ah, kiddo. I know and I'm sorry. Sammy and I will be back there as soon as possible."

"Okay," she sighed, "I was lying Daddy, I'm not sick. I just wanted to call you."

"I'll see you soon, baby," he paused, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Goodbye," then he hung up the phone and handed it back to Sam.

"She okay?" Sam asked, slipping it back into his pocket.

"Yeah, she's just a little uncomfortable being in a stranger's house."

"Hey, you know we should probably get Axel her own cell phone."

"Yeah," Dean said with a nod, "I've been thinking about that. I wanted to get her one to take to school, but they have stupid strict rules about it and I didn't want her to get in trouble."

"Well, even if we never leave her with strangers again, she should still have a phone in case we get separated."

"We're not getting separated," Dean argued.

"Of course not," Sam looked at his brother, "But stuff happens. You know that."

Dean nodded, "I do," he sighed, "I'll get her a phone after we figure out just what the hell we are doing."

"What are we doing?" Sam asked, "I mean, do you have a plan?"

"Keep moving," Dean stated, "Keep moving until we're sure that Imogen's really the queen of hell."

"She is," Sam stated, "You know she is."

"We have to prove it first," he looked at his brother, "Once we prove it we summon her."

"And then what?" Sam scoffed, "Let her tear us to shreds and take Axel to the underworld?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "No, dipshit. We capture her and we cure her."

Sam looked at his brother, "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Well, it's the only one we've got. So take it or leave it."

"What about Axel? You just gonna let her help?"

Dean glared at his brother, "No, of course not Sam. I've got to find a safe place for her to go first. Then you and I will take care of our sister."

"Where the hell is she going to go? You barely trust me with her and you're going to leave her in someone else's care?"

Dean didn't say a word.

"What, are you gonna have Cas take her?"

Dean's face crinkled up, "No, are you crazy?"

"Then who?"

"I'll let you know."

"You don't even know who it is?" Sam barked, "Jesus Christ, Dean. Have you thought any of this through?"

"I know who it is, Sammy. I've just gotta find them and ask."

"Who?" Sam demanded, "Maybe I can help."

Dean shook his head, "I gotta do this one on my own."

Sam groaned, "Dean, seriously. Just tell me who it is. Because the only person I can think of is Bobby, and he's very dead."

Dean stared at his brother like he was an idiot.

"What?" Sam asked, "He was the only one we ever trusted Imogen with."

"Not true," Dean stated, "We left her with Jody once."

"So Jody?"

Dean shook his head, "Chill, little brother. I'll tell you when the time's right."


	7. Chapter Six

After dinner the girls were in the backroom playing quietly while Sam, Dean, and Olivia were seated in the living room. Dean was laid back, his hand rubbing his very full stomach.

"The food was great," Dean smiled at Olivia, "That you so much for taking care of us."

"Well," she smiled back at him, "I've been begging Sam to bring you and the child around for as long as I've known him. Really, the pleasure is all mine."

Dean chuckled softly, "Well, thank you," he glanced down the hall, "I hope the girls are okay."

"They're just fine. They are becoming fast friends," Olivia assured Dean, "No surprise there. Those with unnatural abilities seem to group up. Either that or we kill each other. Sometimes both."

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, sitting forward, "Axel doesn't have any unnatural abilities."

"Well, not yet perhaps. But that child is very powerful."

"Dean," Sam looked at his brother, "Chill."

Dean ignored Sam, "What are you talking about?"

"The child. I've never met something quite like her. Sam let me know that her mother was your younger sister and her father an angel."

Immediately Dean looked to Sam, "Are you serious?"

"Please," Olivia reached over and patted Dean's hand, "Don't be angry with your brother. It's not so much that he willingly told me. Need I remind you, I am a mind reader?"

Dean sighed and shook his head, "Does your granddaughter know?" he asked, "Axel doesn't know and I don't want some kid telling her."

"No. Azrael has no idea about Axel. And I've advised her to not bring up anything of a supernatural nature."

"Thank you," Dean sighed, "Axel's biological father, he wasn't an angel. I mean he was, but he had fallen so he wasn't an angel when you know, she was being made."

Olivia nodded, "Sam told me all about it. Nonetheless, the angel passed on some of his grace one way or another. He never mentioned it to you?"

"No. He's only met her one time and that was recently. He didn't say anything."

"Well, that's understandable. If he touched her then he knew."

"Knew what?" Dean demanded, immediately catching himself, "Sorry."

"When I shook hands with the child," she paused, contemplating what she was going to say next, "Her soul. It's hard to describe, but it's like there's a dark spot on her soul. It's surrounded by a seemingly insurmountable amount of light, but darkness is also very obviously there."

"What does that even mean?" Dean was gripping the arms of the chair he was sitting in, clenching his teeth together.

"I'm not completely sure," she explained, "I've never seen anything like it. It's somewhat similar to what a dammed soul feels like, but not nearly as intense and definitely different. I'm not sure if that makes any sense."

Dean stared at her, unsure of what to say or ask.

Olivia could hear his thoughts and his confusion, "Let's me try to explain this better. When someone sells their soul to a demon it is like blackened toast. You can scrape and scrape and scrape, but it's nearly impossible to make the burned bread anything resembling edible."

"What, are you saying my daughter sold her soul? That's ridiculous. She's never even been near a demon."

"No," Olivia shook her head, "It's more so that a demon has touched her soul, leaving a black stain on a part of it, but there's been no claim to her soul."

"So what, she's evil?" Dean asked quickly.

"Not exactly. There's so much good that's radiating off of her. It's keeping the blackness in check. I would assume that's from your parenting, teaching her wrong from right. However, I do think that it's something that could easily take her over if she were to go down the wrong path."

Dean shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "My sister, she went to hell right after she had Axel. Could that have something to do with it?"

"Possibly," Olivia nodded, "I've never heard of anything like this. But it would make sense that a pregnant woman who sells her soul would end up scarring her child's soul."

Dean stood up and started pacing back and forth, "So I just gotta keep her good? Make sure she doesn't shop lift or bully and she won't turn evil?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "I'm sorry Dean. There's no precedent for this. I've never experienced this before so I don't know how to help you."

"You said the angel would have known as soon as he touched her about the mark on her soul?" Dean asked.

"Yes, I would think so," she said with a nod, "Angels are very perceptive creatures. If I could feel it I have no doubt one of them could too."

"Great," Dean nodded, "Then I'm gonna have a chat with my baby daddy," Dean headed to the door and turned back, "Sammy, stay here with Axel. If she asks tell her I went for a walk."

Sam sighed, "Dean, if Cas didn't tell you it was for a reason."

"Well, he's gonna tell me now," Dean stated, "I've gotta protect Axe and to do that I need answers. I'll be back as soon as I can," he headed out the door and walked for a while into the thick forest. He didn't want to take a chance of someone overhearing.

"Castiel," Dean said sternly, "I need to talk to you," he let his arms fall to his side and felt a sharp sting, suddenly remembering the fresh anti-angel tattoo he had gotten earlier. There was no way Castiel was going to be able to find him if he didn't give the angel his location, "I'm at some farmhouse in Fort Worth. About a half a mile into the forest. Near some big ass oak tree."

And then the angel appeared, "Hello Dean."

"Hey Cas," he sighed softly, "Glad you found me."

"It was a challenge. You're appropriately warded against me."

Dean pulled up his shirt to reveal the tattoo that was on his side, above the hip, "Protection."

Castiel nodded, "Why did you pray to me?"

"You lied to me," Dean stated.

"About what?"

"You know about Axel, don't you?"

"Yes, you've told me of her existence."

Dean glared at him, "Don't try to be cute with me. I'm talking about her soul."

Castiel sighed but nodded, "Yes, I know."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Dean demanded, "I had a right to know. I'm trying to keep her safe. Don't you think that this is something I need to know to keep her safe? Or do you just not care?" he was getting angry, "I get that you don't know the kid. You've met her once and I'm her daddy, you're just the guy that created her. But hell, I thought that would at least count for something in your book. You really don't care what happens to her?"

Castiel's face twitched and it was obvious he was trying to contain himself. He failed.

"Of course I care!" he yelled angrily, "I've spent every day of the last eleven years wondering about my child, but keeping my distance because that's what Imogen wanted. I wanted to keep her safe so I stayed away. Because me being near her wouldn't be safe," he paused and narrowed his eyes at Dean, "But when I saw her for the first time," his voice was a bit calmer, "I knew that I had made the wrong decision. I should have been the one raising her. She was my responsibility."

"Bull shit," Dean barked, "I've done a damn good job taking care of that girl."

"That's not what I'm saying, Dean," the man sighed, "Yes, you've done a good job. But she's my daughter. You shouldn't have been the one to raise her after your sister died, you should have told me and I should have been her father."

"No," Dean growled, "You even told my sister from the beginning that you weren't going to be there for her. That you were too busy with whatever the hell was going on in Heaven. Well, Axel's mine. You're not going to take that away from either of us."

"You're right," Castiel agreed, "I'm not going to take her from you. It's too late now."

"No," Dean shook his head, "It's not too late. You guys all said that about Sam, and look where he is now? Being evil is a choice. Axel is not evil and she won't ever be."

"I hope you're right," Castiel said with a nod, "I wouldn't want to see what damage she could do."

"What is she?" Dean asked, "Is she an angel?"

Castiel shook his head.

"A demon? Some kind of crossbreed?"

Again the angel shook his head, "Her situation is so unique that I've never even heard theories of what it could be. It's completely foreign to entire host of Heaven."

"Why is it so unique?"

The angel sighed, "While I was human I was never completely and totally human. I still had specks of angel inside of me which were then transferred to my offspring when Imogen conceived. While she was pregnant she must have made a deal with Crowley that earmarked her soul for hell and while Crowley couldn't put a claim on the soul of the unborn he did leave his mark. I assume he wished to corrupt the child so that when she was older he could bring it to his side. He must have been able to feel the power inside of that child. He knew she could be of use."

"Well that's never going to happen," Dean insisted.

"Well regardless, Axel is powerful. Not likely as powerful as an angel or a demon, but more powerful than a mere human. Do you understand?"

Dean sighed, "I guess. What can we do?" he asked, "To keep her darkness from growing?"

Castiel looked at him, "I wish I had answers for you Dean. I've been collecting information from all of my sources, but this situation is truly unheard of. No one knows anything because nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Okay, thanks anyways," Dean scratched his head.

"Dean, I need you to think about what I told you at the bunker days ago. Every day we are getting closer to a literal hell on Earth. If we don't stop it …" the man trailed off, knowing Dean would get the point.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "I heard you the first time. Here's the thing, there's nothing I can do about this and keep Axel safe. She's my priority, Cas."

The angel shook his head, "There's no keeping her safe when Hell rises. This is more dangerous than the actual apocalypse. I hope you understand that. Crowley not only has a queen, but that queen is your sister. I'm confident we can defeat them if we just work together."

"Enough Cas. Look, I can't help you. I'm sorry. I wish that I could. Now I gotta get back inside. Thanks for stopping by."

Castiel sighed, "Fine," he paused, "I don't have your most recent cellphone number. We should probably be keeping in touch."

"You're right," Dean nodded before rattling off the number for the man, "You call me if you find out anything about Axel and what the hell is going on, okay?"

"Absolutely," Castiel stated before he disappeared.

Dean sighed as he turned and walked back to the house in the dark. It was exceptionally quiet and the man's own concerns were screaming inside of his head. Axel couldn't be bad. She just couldn't be. She was the sweetest kid that Dean had ever met, always helping others. Then he remembered what she had said earlier when they got to the house.

 _"Sometimes I have bad thoughts,"_ she had told him. And Dean had just brushed it aside. He hadn't even bothered to ask her what those bad thoughts were. Were there other signs that the man had missed? Was he just too biased to see it? He would have to ask Sam, but he wasn't sure Sam would be able to answer honestly either. Finally he made it back to the house and stepped inside. Olivia was sitting on the couch but Sam was gone.

"He's taking out the garbage," Olivia explained, having read Dean's thoughts.

Dean chuckled, "Really? I can't get him to do that at home."

"What did the angel say?" she asked.

"He wasn't much help. Didn't really know more than you did," Dean shrugged, "Do you know of any good motels around here?" he asked, "I should probably get my kid to bed."

"Samuel said you were staying the night," she stated, slowly getting out of the chair, which Dean helped her with, "I have the guest room all made up. Axel can even sleep with Azrael."

Dean frowned, "Uh, well," he scratched his head, he wasn't sure how to explain that Axel slept in bed with him. He didn't have to though, because she read his mind.

"Well, that's fine too," she said with a nod, "Sam has already offered to sleep on the couch," she smiled and motioned for him to follow as she walked into the back room and turned on the light, "You can rest easy knowing this house is fully warded. Nothing gets near without me knowing."

Dean nodded, "Thank you."

"The bathroom is right across the hall. Please make yourself at home, what's ours is yours."

He sat down on the double bed and started untying his shoes, "You're very kind."

"Sam is family to my granddaughter and me, he is really the only family we have now, which makes you and your daughter family as well. If it wasn't for him she wouldn't be alive, he's a good man."

Dean couldn't help but to smile, "Yeah, good man. But a damn pain in the ass too."

Olivia chuckled, "If you need anything feel free to ask Azrael or me. Or Sam for that matter. He could probably help you find anything."

Dean pulled off his flannel and nodded, "Thank you. I promise we won't impose on you too much longer."

She shook her head, "It's nice to have the company. Also gives me an excuse to cook. I love cooking."

"Well, I love to eat," he said with a smirk before standing up, "Do you mind if I use your shower?"

"Not at all. Sam brought in your bags earlier," she pointed to them sitting by the door, "I'll leave you to yourself," she smiled as she headed out of the room.

Dean grabbed his duffel off the ground and started to head to the bathroom when he heard the girls giggling from the bedroom so he stopped and knocked on the door and waited until Azrael opened it.

"Hi," the young girl looked up at Dean.

"Hey," he smiled at her and looked over to Axel who was sitting on the floor, "Hey kiddo. I'm gonna take a shower and then lay down in the guest room," he pointed to the bedroom, "How long do you think until you're ready to go to bed?"

Axel shrugged, "I don't know."

"I'm only asking because we're probably going to get up pretty early tomorrow and head out."

Axel made a face but didn't say anything.

"So I've gotta be rested."

Azrael smiled, "She can sleep in here with me, Mr. Winchester."

Now it was Dean's turn to make a face and his who body shuddered, "Please, don't ever call me that again. Just call me Dean."

Azrael nodded, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Dean sighed and looked up at Axel, "You can sleep in here with her or in there with me. Either way," he shrugged.

Axel fidgeted uncomfortably and chewed her bottom lip. She didn't want to look like a baby in front of Azrael and what Sam had said to her hours earlier about how she couldn't sleep without Dean was ringing in her head.

"I'll sleep in here," she finally stated even though she didn't want to, "I don't wanna bother you, Daddy."

"You're not a bother kiddo," he sighed, "Well, give me a hug good night at least."

She quickly got up and walked over, wrapping her arms around him. Dean hugged her back and sighed, "I love you."

"I love you too," she said softly, almost as if she were embarrassed.

He frowned and let her go, "I'll see you in the morning," he turned and headed into the bathroom where he took a very long, hot shower and then headed back into the guest room where he shut off all the lights and flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes.

But he couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried. He also couldn't help but to listen in on the girls' conversation right next door to him.

"So Dean's your dad?" Azrael asked.

"Yes," Axel replied.

"You don't look very much like him. How come?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "Do you look like your dad?"

"A little."

"Where's your dad?" Axel asked.

"He died when I was four. Is Sam your dad too?"

Dean stared intensely at the ceiling, debating on getting up and breaking up their conversation. But he didn't, and he knew he would regret it. He was right.

"No. Sam's my uncle."

"Oh, I thought they might be gay and the uncle thing was a cover."

"Jeeze," Dean groaned quietly, wondering how an eight-year-old could speak so candidly on such matters.

"No. He and my daddy are brothers."

"Where's your mom?" Azrael finally asked, "Mine died with my dad. I would have died too if Sam hadn't saved me."

"What did he save you from?" Axel asked.

"A fire," Dean could tell the young girl was lying but Axel couldn't, "Where's your mom?" she asked again.

There was a long pause and Dean held his breath. Axel had only asked about her mother twice before and Dean had cleverly managed to avoid telling her anything and it had been such an uncomfortable situation for the both of them that she quit asking.

"She's in the military," his daughter lied flawlessly, "I don't get to see her much because she's always overseas. But she sends me letters all the time."

"That's pretty cool," Azrael stated, "I bet you miss her a lot."

"Yeah," Axel's voice was quiet.

"Are she and your dad married?"

"Yeah. She's the love of his life. He talks about her all of the time, but only to me because we both miss her a lot."

"He seems like a good dad. Not that I would know. Sam's the closest I have to a dad."

"He is a good dad," Axel assured her, "We should probably get some sleep or we'll be sleepy in the morning."

"Okay," Azrael agreed.

There was a little more chatter but then it went silent. Still Dean couldn't sleep. He found himself tossing and turning with Axel's words about her mother rattling around in his head. Where the hell had she gotten the idea that her mother was in the military? Had Sam told her that?

A half hour of silence had passed before Dean heard the door to the room he was sleeping in being opened and light from the hallway spilling in. He looked up to see Axel standing in the doorway.

"Sorry," she said softly, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry about it," Dean said hoarsely, "You okay?"

She nodded, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Dean sat up in the bed, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she assured him, "I just couldn't sleep," she paused, "Can I lay down in here?"

"Of course, kiddo," he scooted over in the bed to make room for her and pulled the blankets back.

Quickly she scurried over and got under the blanket with her dad, "I had to wait until Azzy fell asleep," she spoke softly.

"Why's that?" Dean asked, laying back down and yawning. Now that Axel was right there with him he was feeling tired.

"I didn't want her to think I was a baby, sleeping in bed with my daddy."

"That's never bothered you before," Dean stated.

"Yeah but Uncle Sam said something to me."

Dean sighed, "Remind me to kick his ass tomorrow, okay?" he felt himself starting to doze off, his arm around Axel so he would know if she got up for anything during the night.

"Daddy?" her voice was soft.

"Hmm?" Dean grunted out.

"Where's my mom?"

His eyes shot open and he was fully awake.


	8. Chapter Seven

**A/N: Hey everybody! Just wanted to say sorry for being gone so long. My computer broke down on me so I couldn't write, but I am back up and running so regular updates are resuming!**

There was a long pause and Dean thought about playing it off like he had fallen asleep, but he knew his daughter wouldn't fall for that so he just stayed silent.

"Is she bad?" Axel finally asked, "Is that why I never met her? Did she hurt someone and is in prison?"

Dean stayed silent, but he knew she wasn't going to let this go.

"If she was dead you would have told me a long time ago," the girl stated, "But you've never said anything about her. So that must mean she's bad."

He couldn't speak. He'd hoped that he would never have to have this talk. So he'd completely avoided thinking about what he would say when the time came. Now the time was here and he was at a loss for words.

"Did she kill someone?" the girl asked, her voice getting a little louder and panic soaking her words, "She's bad. I know she is."

"Axe," Dean took a shaky breath, "You should get some sleep."

"No," she argued getting louder and sitting up, turning on the bedside lamp, "Tell me. If she wasn't bad you would tell me that."

Dean sat bolt right up, "Axel Rose Winchester," he said softly, but sternly, "There are people trying to sleep in this house. You need to be quiet."

"And you need to tell me," she stated boldly.

Axel was never this defiant with Dean. Generally when he said something she listened. Not to say that she never disobeyed, but she knew when she was pushing things too far and she would stop. Right now she didn't care.

"Why?" Dean asked, "What difference does it make? She's not here. She's not the one that's been taking care of you day in and day out. I am. I'm here for you. I love you."

"I need to know!" the girl demanded, "I need to know," she repeated, her voice shaking and close to tears, "Daddy, please."

"It doesn't matter," Dean took her hand.

"Yes it does," she looked down at her lap, trying to keep the tears from falling.

"Why?" Dean asked, lifting her chin so she would look him in the eye, "Why is this so important to you?"

"Because," she choked out, "Because if she was bad," she coughed, "I'm bad too."

Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking back at her, "Axe, you're not bad."

"I am," she argued.

"Hey," Dean held her face in his hands, "No, you're not. Not unless you choose to be. We all have a choice to make good and bad decisions. You, me, Sammy. All of us. Who your parents are don't determine who you become. You're the only one who can do that."

Axel just nodded and took a breath, "Daddy… Please. Tell me something about her."

"Axe-"

She cut him off, "Please. I've been dying to know but I've been too scared to ask."

"She," Dean took a breath and looked away, "She wasn't bad, Axel. She just made some bad decisions. But she was good. She helped everyone she could. She was a damn warrior. And she made me the man I am today. Without her," he paused, "I never would have grown up if it wasn't for her."

"You loved her?"

"With everything I had," he said with a nod, "She taught me what love really was."

"Do you miss her?"

Dean smiled sadly, "Every day of my life. But I have you, and I wouldn't trade you for anything. Baby, I never knew I could love anything as much as I love you."

"Where is she?" Axel asked.

"No," Dean shook his head, "That's enough. Let's get some sleep," he said, laying back down on the bed, "Turn off the light."

Axel didn't argue. She wanted more information, but she had gotten more than she expected. So she flipped off the light and kissed Dean's cheek, "Good night," she whispered before turning away from him and closing her eyes.

Dean was also on his side facing away from her but he didn't close his eyes. He just stared off into the darkness. He wished he hadn't told her any of that. He should have stayed strong. But she was just so confused and hurt and Dean couldn't stand that. He had to put her mind at ease. But now wasn't the time for the whole story. He was going to hold off on that as long as he could.

So the man just lay there in the dark listening to Axel's breathing. She fell asleep pretty quickly but Dean didn't. He waited until the sun was just starting to rise before getting out of the bed and quietly making his way into the living room where Sam's oversized body was taking up the couch.

"Hey," Dean barked quietly, shaking his brother's arm, "Get up."

Sam tensed and looked up at Dean, "What's wrong?" he asked, stretching and groaning.

"Get up. I need to talk to you," he said, heading out the front door and standing on the porch.

A couple of minutes later Sam was standing next to him, "You okay?"

Dean shook his head, "Couldn't sleep."

"Why?"

Dean sighed and looked at Sam, "Has Axel ever asked you about her mother?"

Sam locked eyes with his brother, "She asked you again?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah."

"You can't keep avoiding it Dean. She has a right to know."

"How the hell am I supposed to explain that her mother is my sister without it seeming incestuous?"

"Tell her the truth," Sam stated, "That's the only way."

"No, because then it'll seem like I've been lying to her."

"You have been. That's just the way it is."

Dean took a deep breath, "What'd you say when she asked you?"

"Not much. I told her that her mother did everything she could to make sure that Axel was safe. Her mother knew that you were the best person to raise her."

"Did you tell her that her mother's dead?"

"No Dean. I didn't. I knew you didn't want her to know until she was old enough to understand everything."

Dean shook his head, "Cas told me that it was a mistake leaving her with me. That he should have been the one to raise her."

Sam scoffed, "He's got no idea what he's talking about."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "I know he doesn't. But maybe if he had raised her he could have done something sooner."

"What are you even talking about?" Sam asked.

"You heard Olivia. Axel's got like a dark spot on her soul or something," he took a breath, "Axel knows something's wrong. She, herself, thinks she's bad or evil or something. Point is, I didn't know so I didn't do anything. Who knows if it's too late?"

"Hey," Sam put a hand on Dean's shoulder, "You're the one person who never gave up on me. And look at me now. If it hadn't been for you I would be dead or the world would have ended. One of the two."

"Thanks Sammy."

Sam nodded.

"Hey," Dean sighed, "Do you know how to get ahold of Kristen?"

"Kristen?" Sam asked, "Katsopolis?"

"That'd be the one," Dean stated, "I haven't talked to her since before Axe was born. She's the one I trust to take care of my baby."

Sam's mouth fell open, "Dean, like you said you haven't talked to her in years. What makes you think she'd even want to do that? I mean, it's not like you guys parted on the best of terms."

Dean looked at his brother, "We didn't part on bad terms either. And I don't know that she's going to want to do it," he admitted, "But I've got to ask her," he sighed, "If she says yes then I'm going to tell Axel she's her mother."

"No," Sam stated, "You can't do that. You can't lie to her."

"I have been for years," Dean replied, "I'm not going to let her think that I'm leaving her with just anyone. She's gotta think it's her mother. At least until we have Imogen situated and know what's happening with all of that."

"Dean-"

"No," the older brother said, "Look, ultimately it's up to Kristen. If she says no then that'll be the end of it."

"Why can't we just take Axel to Jody while we try to sort out what's going on with Imogen? I mean, that's at least someone she knows."

"Because she does know her," Dean stated, "And that's a more obvious hiding place. Jody knows about her past too, Kristen doesn't. I'll tell Kris that Axel was my baby and I need her help."

"I think that's a bad idea."

"I don't," he stated, "I don't want anyone except me telling Axe the truth and for that to happen I need who ever she's staying with to not know either. It'll be safer this way."

"It's not like Jody's gonna blab about it. She hasn't so far."

"I know that," Dean agreed, "But, I would just feel safer knowing that she's with someone who doesn't know the truth and can't accidentally slip up and spill the beans while I'm off doing what I've got to do to keep my kid safe."

Sam sighed, "And what about if we can cure our sister? What then?"

Dean ran a hand through his hair, "No idea, Sammy."

"What if Imogen wants to be Axel's mother? What if she takes her away? Or hell, what if she and Cas get back together and they become a little family? You and I both know that would have happened if she hadn't died," Sam's tone was tense, "Dean, you stand to lose Axel and I don't think you even see it."

"What do you want from me?" Dean barked, "Imogen's my sister. I have to keep her from destroying the world. Are you really trying to get me to stop that?"

"No, of course not. I'm just trying to get you to see the whole picture so that you're not blindsided if we are able to cure her. She might want her kid back."

Dean took a deep breath, "Imogen's still my sister. She was my responsibility long before Axel ever was. I've still got to look out for her."

"Yeah, and I get that," the younger brother sighed, "I just know that you're going to be the one that gets hurt in the end. You always try to do the right thing and it always makes you miserable."

"Not when I was a demon," Dean was attempting to lighten the mood, "I didn't do the right thing then and I wasn't miserable."

Sam just sighed and looked out at the sunrise.

"So, do you know how to get ahold of Kristen or not?"

"Yeah, I know," Sam said with a nod, "Are you sure this is what you want to do? I mean Dean, she's not hunting anymore."

Dean nodded, "I want to do this," he paused, "What do you mean she's not hunting?"

"She stopped shortly after you two went your separate ways. I think she's an accountant or something now."

"No way," Dean scoffed, "I cannot picture that. Is she like married or whatever?"

Sam shrugged, "No idea. Do you want me to give her a call?"

Dean shook his head, "No, I should do it. Can you give me her number?"

Sam nodded, "I'll text it to you," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and sending his brother the information, "You know. After all these years it feel weird thinking we're going to be getting out sister back."

"Yeah," Dean agreed, "But I doubt we'll have her for very long."

"What makes you say that?"

Dean shrugged, "Just kinda been the way it's worked ever since she was a teen. She took off and we didn't see her for years, she came back and then immediately left with Cas and forgot all about us, then after things ended between her and Cas she stopped by long enough to sell her soul and pop out another baby."

"What do you think she sold her soul for?" Sam asked, "I mean, she's our sister. It had to have been for something big and important."

"I don't know," Dean admitted," But you're right. She wouldn't have done it for just anything. As soon as we get Axel safe we'll ask her," he paused, "You think it's too early to call Kris? I don't know what time zone she lives in."

Sam chuckled, "She lives in Alaska."

Dean's eyes went wide, "Alaska?" he asked, "Why the hell does she live in Alaska?"

Sam shrugged, "It's as far north as she could get away from you and still technically be in the states."

"Please," Dean scoffed, "Alaska is just left Canada."

"Don't say that," Sam argued, "Besides, it'll be fun getting you on a plane."

"Hell no I'm not getting on a plane. If I'm going to Alaska you can damn well bet I'm driving."

"That's ridiculous. It would take forever to get there and we would have to get passports to cross the border. And it's not like this is something you can just ask her over the phone. We'll have to drive out there one way or another, won't we?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, we will. Unless of course she hangs up on me. In that case I'm pretty sure she won't be willing to take care of my kid."

"Jesus," Sam groaned, "They're like three hours behind us so yeah, you need to hold off on making the call."

"Hope you packed something warm, Sammy," Dean said with a smirk as he headed back inside of the house and back into the guest bedroom where he passed out next to his daughter. If they were going to be heading to Alaska they probably wouldn't be leaving today so he was going to rest up.

Sam stayed outside and ran his hands through his hair. He knew that Kristen was going to be more than okay with them coming for a visit, and he also knew that she would take care of Axel and pretend to be her mother for the time being. She loved Dean and she would do anything for him. Dean loved her too, but family always came first with him.

Kristen had no idea that Imogen had a child, she didn't even know that Imogen was dead. She also didn't know that Dean was now a father. However, Dean didn't know that Kristen had once been pregnant with and miscarried his own child. Sam had never told him. There were plenty of secrets to go around.


	9. Chapter Eight

_"Daddy, Daddy," a small, panicked voice cut through Dean's sleep._

 _Immediately the man was wide awake, "What's wrong?" he asked, not missing a beat, looking into the terrified eyes of his little girl._

 _"There's a loud noise," she whispered, "Outside our room," she was instinctively holding onto him._

 _Dean slowly stood up, "You sure?" he asked, this wasn't the first time she had heard something in the bunker that had frightened her._

 _"Yeah," she whispered, "I was getting a cup of water and I heard the front door."_

 _"Was it Sam?" Dean asked._

 _"No, Daddy," she kept her voice low._

 _"What did they look like?" but then he heard a loud booming noise and the bunker shook for a moment, "Son-of-a-bitch," he said, quickly darting over and grabbing his gun from his dresser, "Okay," he squatted down to her level, "I need you to climb out the window and go hide in your tree house. Don't come out until I come for you," he looked at her, "Understand?"_

 _She nodded slowly, "You're not coming with me?"_

 _"I will as soon as I can," then he walked over and opened the window, picking the small girl up and placing her through it, "Don't make a sound," he warned and then shut the window. He slipped on his shoes and had his gun ready before he opened the bedroom door. But there was nothing. No bunker. A swirling black hole. Quickly Dean ran back to the window and threw it open, now noticing that the same black hole had swallowed up the outside too. All that was left was the room he was standing in._

 _Then he heard Axel's very distinct screaming and he didn't hesitate before jumping through that window into the swirling black hole, "I'm coming baby!" he yelled, flying weightlessly until his body slammed hard against something invisible and he was just suspended in the black._

 _After what felt like forever a small light appeared and he could see Axel standing across from him._

 _"Baby," he called to her, "Are you okay?"_

 _She lifted her head and looked straight at him. But she wasn't actually looking, because her eyeballs had been burned out of her skull._

 _"No!" he screamed and his body started to shake._

"Daddy, Daddy!" the same panicked voice as earlier cut through his haze of sleep.

Dean bolted straight up and took in the sight of Axel. Without a word he pulled her into his arms, "Are you okay?" he asked, holding her at arm's length and checking over her, making sure her eyes were still in their sockets.

"I'm fine," she narrowed her eyes at him, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Dean breathed, mopping the sweat from his forehead, "Did you hear a noise?" he asked, getting off of the bed.

"No," she was confused.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she looked at him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Dean cleared his throat, sitting back down on the edge of the bed, "Why'd you wake me?" he came off annoyed but in truth he was damn glad for the interruption.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said, "I came in here and you were yelling and thrashing about. I thought you were having a seizure or something."

"No," he shook his head, "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Bad dream?" she inquired.

"Uh," he scratched his head, "Yeah. Nothing big."

"What was it about?"

Dean shook his head, "What did you come in here to ask me?"

"I wanted to know if I could go into town with Azrael."

Slowly Dean blinked, trying to clear his head of the awful nightmare, "Into town?" he asked, "For what?"

She paused and chewed her lip, "I dunno. She just asked if I wanted to go."

"Who's taking you?" he asked, "Because you're too young to go by yourself."

"Uncle Sam," she stated.

He slowly stood up, "What time is it?"

"Noon."

"Noon?!" he exclaimed, "Why the hell didn't you wake me?"

She flinched, "I'm sorry Daddy. I just knew you didn't sleep much last night."

Dean shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to gripe at you," he walked out of the room with her at his heels, "Where's Sam?"

"He's mowing the yard."

Dean laughed softly, "Great," he said and turned to his daughter, "Did he tell you anything?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, well tomorrow the three of us are taking off."

She smiled, "We're going home?" she cheered.

His heart sank, "No baby girl. We're going to visit an old friend. Do you know where Alaska is?"

She nodded, "Yeah daddy, I'm eleven. Not four."

"Well, my friend lives up there. So it'll take us a while to drive there."

"Why?" the girl pouted, "I don't wanna go."

Dean frowned, "I know kiddo. But hopefully things will settle down once we meet up with her," he sighed as his daughter stomped back down the hallway.

Just then Sam was walking in the front door, dripping sweat, "He lives!" the man teased when he saw his brother.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "You're taking the kids into town?"

Sam nodded and mopped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, "Yeah, I always take Azzy out for ice cream when I'm in town. Thought Axel would want to go with us. Told her she had to ask you first."

Dean shot his brother a look, "Thought frozen yogurt was your thing with the ladies?"

Sam shook his head, "No, that was just with Axel."

"Started with Imogen."

"Yeah," he nodded, "Which is why I do it with Axel."

"I know," he nodded, "Just keep her safe, okay?"

"You know I will," he paused, "I'm gonna go shower first."

"Good idea," Dean nodded and headed back down the hall to found Axel who was face down on the guest bed, "Axe," he sighed, sitting down next to her and laying his hand on her back, "I am so sorry."

"No you're not," she mumbled into the pillow.

"Yeah, baby girl. I am. I never wanted this for you. I jumped around my whole childhood, it was all I knew. Hell, my only permanent home was the Impala. The second I held you in my arms I promised myself that you wouldn't live the same life. Not unless it was the only way to keep you safe."

"We weren't safe back home?" Axel asked, sitting up and meeting Dean's eyes.

"Honestly?" a small sigh escaped him, he didn't want to worry her but he didn't really have much of a choice, "I'm not sure. But I'm gonna make sure you're safe. No matter what."

"What is it?" Axel asked, "Is someone going to hurt us?"

"No one is going to hurt you," Dean assured her, "I'm going to make damn sure of that. You trust me, right?"

"Yeah Daddy," she paused, "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

Dean took her hand, "I will," he stated, "I will tell you when I can. But for now," he sighed, "You just gotta trust me, sweetheart. The less you know the safer you are."

Axel nodded slowly. He could tell that she was losing her patience, but she was doing her best to obey him. She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Axe," he kissed the top of her head, "You have no idea," he looked at her still in her pajamas, "You should get dressed if you're going out with Sam," he stood up and picked up the clothes bag and sat it next to her, "I'm gonna go find something to eat."

Axel sat in the same spot for a few moments after he father had left the room and shut the door behind him. Then she reached down into her shirt and pulled out the amulet that she had found in her dad's drawer before they had left the bunker. She still hadn't told him she had it, she was terrified he would want to take it. She wasn't completely sure what it was, but she knew that she wanted to keep it with her at all times. So she got dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and tucked the necklace back into her shirt.

As Axel had slid off of the bed she accidentally bumped into the bedside table causing Dean's wallet to fall down and the contents spilled out. Quickly she started to pick it up and put everything back inside. There were two pictures inside of it. One was Axel's most recent school photo and the other was of a young, smiling, blonde girl holding a small baby.

Her jaw dropped. That had to be her mother holding her. Why else would Dean have that picture in his wallet? She turned faded and creased photo over to check the back for any identifying information on it, but there was none.

Then came a sharp knock at the door followed by Dean letting himself in and seeing Axel on the floor with his wallet and the picture, "What the hell are you doing?" he barked angrily, ripping his belongings out of her hands as quickly as he could humanly manage, "What makes you think you can go through my things?" he demanded, "I don't go through your stuff," he jammed the picture back into his wallet.

"I-I-I," she swallowed hard, "I'm sorry Daddy. I was an accident. I bumped the table and-"

"I don't want to hear it!" he yelled at her.

"But Daddy-"

"No buts," he snapped, "I cannot believe you."

Slowly she got up and looked at him, her own frustrations starting to come back, "That's my mom, isn't it!?" she screamed at him, "That's me and my mom! Why are you keeping that from me? Why can't I even look at it? It's just a picture."

"Dammit Axel!" he barked, "That is NOT you and your mom. I didn't show it to you because it's none of your damn business!"

"It is too!" her voice cracked and she couldn't hold back the tears, "That's my mom and she misses me! You probably stole me from her! I bet she's looking for me!"

Dean couldn't hold back any longer, "Dammit Axel! Don't you get it? I didn't steal you. Your mom left because she was selfish. She had all of these fucking responsibilities and she just left me holding the bag. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be a single father. Hell, I didn't ask to be a father at all. But here I am. Cleaning up her messes yet again."

The girl trembled, "Where is she?" her voice was small.

"In Hell for all I know," he snapped back sarcastically, but there was a bit of truth to it.

"That's enough," Sam said from the doorway, standing shirtless and his hair dripping, "Dean, you need to chill out. You can't talk you your kid like that."

"Why not?" Axel bawled, "He never wanted me anyways," she said, roughly pushing past the men and running away.

Dean let out a groan, "Imogen, wait. That's not what I meant," he started to go after her but Sam stopped him.

"Her name's Axel," Sam stated, "Not Imogen. And give her some space."

"I'm a fucking dick," Dean said, collapsing onto the bed, "I can't believe I just said that to her."

"Me either," Sam agreed, "You're really on edge."

Dean shook his head, "I'm terrified of losing her," he admitted.

"Like her dying?" Sam questioned, pulling his shirt on over his head.

"Yeah," Dean said with a nod, "Dying or getting hurt," he sighed, "Or if we get Imogen back her wanting to be the mom. Or hell, Cas wanting to be a dad. I don't want to share her. And I damn sure I don't want to just be the guy who raised her for the first eleven years and then just disappear. I wish like hell I was her father."

"You are, Dean. Nothing's going to change that. You're absolutely all that she knows."

"I mean I wish she was my biological child. Not because I think it would make me love her more. But if she was I wouldn't have to worry about someone taking her from me."

"I get it," Sam nodded, "Look, I'm gonna take the girls out for some ice cream. You better be here thinking up a massive apology, because your kid deserves one."

"I know," Dean agreed, "You need the keys?"

Sam shook his head, "Nope. We're riding bikes."

Dean's eyes went wide, "You're riding bikes?" he asked, "What?"

"Yep," Sam said with a nod, "It's only like two miles."

"I don't think so, Sammy. That's too far on a bike. Besides, Axel can barely ride."

"I can ride just fine!" Axel had just emerged, "Thank you very much."

Dean just stood there looking at his very hurt and very lost daughter and realized this was not a battle he wanted to fight, "Fine," he relented, "Just be careful. And wear a helmet."

Sam nodded, "We'll be back soon. Azzy!" he called down the hall, "Are you coming or what?"

Azrael was down the hall in an instant and running outside to her bicycle. She was the first one riding down the dirt road. Her thick brown hair and hazel eyes reminded him of someone else at the house and he silently wondered to himself if Sam did more than just save this little girl's life.

"Call me when you get there?" he requested, "And again when you're headed back."

"All right," Sam smiled and patted his brother on the back, "See you soon."

Dean followed them out onto the porch and waved them off. Axel pretended that she didn't see him and road off so wobbly that Dean really thought she was going to fall. He had taught her how to ride a bike when she was younger, but she soon lost interest when she didn't have anywhere else to go.

Only when they were out of sight did Dean go back inside of the house and make his way into the kitchen where he dug around in the fridge and pulled out things to make himself a sandwich.

"Hello Dean," Olivia was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, "I see you're making yourself at home."

Dean jumped, not having heard her come in, "Oh, sorry. I thought you said-"

"It's fine," she smiled at him, "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh, no. I'm okay. Thanks," he started to spread some mayonnaise on bread, "So it must be tough, having lost your daughter and to be caring for a young child at your age."

"I'm not that old."

"No, no, no," he rushed out, "That's not what I mean-"

She held up a hand to stop him from going on, "I'm just teasing. Why don't you just get to the point?"

Dean frowned and didn't move, "What?"

She smiled at him, "You forget I can read minds."

"Shit," he whispered, looking down at his feet, "Oh, excuse my language."

"Just ask," she requested happily, "Go ahead."

A small sigh escaped the man, "Is Sam Azzy's father?"

"No," she shook her head, "He's not her father."

"Are you sure? Because she looks a hell of a lot like him."

"Yes, she does. And yes I'm sure," she paused, "Sam thinks he is though. I've assured him many times that he definitely is not, but he doesn't believe me."

"Why wouldn't he believe you?"

"His reasoning for my lying is I would be afraid he would take the child from me and that I would be alone."

"So by that logic you could be lying to me too, so that I won't tell him."

Olivia shook her head, "I'm not lying though. You are more than welcome to have her DNA tested though," she offered, "If that will put your mind at ease."

"So," he paused, "Sam was hooking up with a married lady?"

Now a groan escaped her, "I don't really prefer to speak about my daughter's sexual exploits, nor do I much like to think about them, but Sam periodically will think of them in my presence so I know much more than I would like."

"So?" Dean probed.

"Let's put it this way, it wasn't cheating since all three of them were sort of involved together."

Dean's eyes went wide, "So Sam-"

"Yes."

"And they were all-"

"Absolutely."

"All of them-?"

"Correct."

Dean shuddered, "Well, that's images of my brother that I never wanted floating around in my head. Thank you very much for that."

"They were more or less all a couple before they died… Or I suppose a more modern term would be a throuple."

"Gross," Dean nodded, "Well, I've lost my appetite," he put everything back where it was supposed to go, "Think I'm going to go lay down and vomit."

"Hold on, Dean," she gently grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving, "You should know the full story, though I'm sure Sam hasn't told you for a reason. But after my daughter got pregnant Sam was more or less phased out of the relationship. He took that pretty hard and I heard nothing more from him for four year until my daughter and her husband were in trouble. He came without hesitation. He tried everything he could, but they still died. And I've never seen that man more heartbroken. He got through by taking care of Azrael," she sighed softly, "Sam and my daughter's husband looked a lot alike. She had a type, you could say. So Azzy looks a lot like Sam, which is why he doesn't believe me about her not being his. And another part is because he desperately wants to hang on to the last thing he has left of the two people that he loved and couldn't save."

"So then how do you know that's not Sam's daughter?"

"Because I know," she smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"Why is it Sam never told me this?" Dean demanded, "I'm his brother."

"Maybe he was afraid you would be jealous or judge him. It's also my understanding that you had been going through a hard time with raising your own daughter when my daughter was pregnant. He probably didn't want to add anything else on top of that."

Dean sighed, "I get it, I guess. Just sucks he never told me."

"Don't hold it against him, Dean. I'm sure he was just doing the best that he could."

"All right," he nodded, "Don't suppose you can tell me how much shit I'm in with Axe?"

She patted his shoulder, "I could," she admitted, "But that would take the fun out of parenthood for you."

"No fair," Dean argued, "You get to read Azzy's mind."

She shook her head, "No, I don't. I can't. There's very few minds I can't access, but my blood is one of them. She's as much a mystery to me as I am to you, Dean."

"Great," the man groaned, "Just great."


	10. Chapter Nine

After the incident at the house Sam knew that Dean and Axel needed their space. Axel damn sure was going to need someone to vent to and Sam was going to be the man for the job. Much like he had been for Imogen when they were raising her. It was about a twenty minute bike ride to the ice cream shop and the three parked their bikes outside and. Sam held the door open while the girls went in ahead of him and stared wide eyed at the menu.

"I'm gonna get a hot fudge sundae," Azrael stated happily, "What are you gonna get, Axel?"

Axel just kind of stood there and shrugged. She hadn't said much on the bike ride over and she was sulking. Sam sighed and pulled out his wallet and handed Azrael a twenty, "Get whatever you want, sweetheart," he stated, "Axe and I will be right back. Do you think you'll be okay for a few minutes?"

Azrael nodded so Sam gently propelled Axel outside of the ice cream shop and took a seat where he could still keep an eye on Azrael through the window. He motioned for Axel to sit down, which she did.

"Okay, kiddo," he gently patted her shoulder, "Talk to me."

"I don't get it," she grumbled, her arms folded over her chest, "Why can't I know about my mom? Shouldn't I?" she sighed, "She didn't want me, I get it. But am I wrong for being curious about her?"

Sam sighed softly, Dean would likely kick his ass for what he was about to say, "Axe, you're not wrong. I get it. My mom died long before I got a chance to remember her, so I know what it's like growing up with just a dad," he sighed softly, "I'm sorry that Dean's not more understanding."

"What's the big deal in telling me?" she barked unhappily.

"Dean… your dad… He's worried that you asking about your mom means that he's not doing his job good enough. And kiddo, raising you is the hardest I've ever seen him work at anything."

"I know he loves me," she stated, "And it's not like I'm asking him to let me meet her or something. I just wanna know who she is and why she isn't around."

"That's where it starts," Sam said with a nod, "But soon enough you're going to be asking more things and it hurts Dean to talk about her. It really does."

"Will he ever tell me?" she asked, looking sadly at Sam, "Am I ever going to get to know?"

"One day," he said with a nod, "When you're older."

"How old?" Axel demanded, "When will I be old enough to know the truth?"

Sam looked briefly down at his feet and then back up at his niece, "I'll make a deal with you, okay? If Dean hasn't told you by the time you turn eighteen then I promise I'll tell you everything."

"Eighteen?" she whined, "That's so far away."

He gave her a disapproving look.

"Sorry," she grimaced, "I mean, thank you Uncle Sam. I really appreciate that."

Sam nodded and stood up, "Come on, let's go get ourselves some ice cream. And don't tell your dad about this agreement or he'll kill me before I get the chance to tell you."

"Deal," she said with a smile.

Axel was laying in the guest bed and staring up at the ceiling and had been for the last hour and a half. She was pretty worn out after they had gotten back from their bike ride, but more than anything she just wanted an excuse not to have to see her dad so she had announced to everyone that she was going to take a nap. However the premise of a nap only worked for so long before Dean was poking his head in the room to check on her. She didn't close her eyes fast enough when the door was opening and Dean knew she was awake.

"Hey," he said, slipping inside and shutting the door tightly behind him, "We need to talk."

"I'm sleeping," she grumbled unhappily and rolled onto her stomach and turned her face away from him, "Go away."

Dean took a seat on the bed and sighed, "Axel, I'm sorry for what I said… And more importantly how I said it."

"I don't want to hear it," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Axe," he took a deep breath, more recently he was having a hard time keeping calm, "Please talk to me."

She groaned loudly and unhappily before she sat up and looked at him, "What?" she barked.

Dean sighed. He really wanted to jump her ass for the attitude, but truth was he deserved it. So instead he pulled out the picture from his wallet and handed it to her, "You can look at it," he said.

Slowly Axel took the picture from him and studied it. The woman in the photo was young, not too much older than Axel herself, "So that's…"

"That's not you and your mom," Dean explained calmly, "That's my sister Imogen and her son Oliver."

She frowned, not taking her eyes off the picture, "Oh."

"She was sixteen in that picture," he sighed softly, "Not too long after that picture was taken her son and her boyfriend were both basically murdered right in front of her."

Axel tensed and nearly dropped the photo, "Wh-what?" she stuttered.

"I wasn't there when it happened. Imogen and I had gotten into a fight and I had left. But your Uncle Sam and Bobby were."

"Bobby," she paused, thinking for a moment, "The guy who was like a dad to you?"

"Yes," Dean nodded, "Imogen wasn't the same after that. Losing Oliver changed her. She wasn't the same innocent little girl that I had raised," he explained, "I never told you about that because I'm ashamed. I should have been there to protect her and her baby instead of off being selfish. She died, I told you that."

"After her son died?"

"Yes," Dean nodded, "But a long time after he died," he paused, "She died soon after you were born."

"So I met her?"

"Technically. But you were a newborn. She loved you so much," Dean explained, "I know she wishes that she could have seen you grow up."

"Did she know my mom?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah she did. They weren't exactly the best of friends. Imogen had a hard time liking herself, much less anyone else."

"You miss her?"

"Who? Imogen?" he paused, "Yeah, I do," he tried to bite back the tears, but one did manage to slip down his cheek, "She was a damn pain in the ass, but I miss that pain. If it hadn't been for me raising Imogen I wouldn't have had any idea how to take care of you," he explained, "And I know I'm not great. But I'm doing the best I can, baby girl."

Seeing the tears in her father's eyes Axel wrapped her arms around him, "I love you, Daddy. I'm sorry that I've been so tough on you."

Dean hugged her back and didn't let go, "No, no. I get it. I've completely screwed up your life. You have more reason than anyone to be pissed off. I'm so sorry baby."

"Thank you for taking care of me," she whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," he sighed, "Just please try to understand, I want to take care of you. I don't want to hurt you. And I'm just doing the best that I can."

"I know," she sighed softly, "I just… Are things ever going to go back to the way that they were? Me and you at home, Uncle Sam visiting when he's not working."

Dean started to reply immediately that yes, one day things would be normal again. But he stopped himself and breathed, "I don't want to lie to you, Axe. I don't know if things are ever going to be the way that they used to be," he paused and took a deep breath, "Things might not be like they were," he put an arm around her, "But I'm gonna make sure that you are safe, no matter what. I can promise you that."

"Daddy," Axel groaned, "You keep saying that. But you won't tell me what you're supposed to be keeping me safe from."

"I just," he sighed in frustration, "I just need you to trust me, okay?" his voice cracked, "I need you to not ask me these questiones, because you don't want to know the answer to them."

Axel met her father's eyes, she could see the pain and exhaustion in them, "Is it me who doesn't want the answers?" she questioned quietly, "Or is it you who doesn't want me to know?"

Dean sighed softly, "You should go hang out with Azrael. We're leaving first thing in the morning, and I'm not sure when you'll get to see her again."

Axel slid off of the bed in a huff, "Fine," she muttered, stomping out of the room.

Dean lay back on the bed and let out a loud groaned, letting his hand slap his forehead and slip down to his chin.

"Hey," Axel knocked on Azrael's door and let herself in, "My dad says I'm leaving tomorrow."

Azrael frowned, "That sucks," she whined, "I liked having a friend."

"Well, at least you still get to go to school and have friends there. I'm gonna be on the road with my dad and Uncle Sam," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Azrael shook her head, "I don't go to school."

"How come?" Axel asked, feeling confused.

"Because I'm homeschooled by my grandma."

"Why?"

"I…" she paused, "I actually can't talk about it."

"Why?"

"Because," she looked behind her, "Because you don't know the truth."

Axel's heart skipped a beat, "You do?"

The younger girl nodded.

"Tell me," Axel whispered, "Please, I have to know."

Azrael bit her lip and grabbed Axel's arm, "We've got to go somewhere that my grandma won't hear you."

"Hear me?" Axel asked, "She's old. How's she gonna hear me?"

"Not that kind of hearing," Azrael stated, pulling Axel towards the door and out into a field where she was sure she was far enough away.

"What's going on?" Axel demanded, pulling her arm away once they reached a stopping place.

"Your dad and Dean," she paused, "They're lying to you. They are trying to keep you safe. They think it would be safer if you didn't know the truth."

"The truth about what?" Axel asked.

"Everything," she paused, "I can read minds. So can my grandma. We're psychics."

"That's ridiculous," Axel scoffed, "You really expect me to believe that?"

"You lied to me about your mom. You actually have no idea what happened to her."

Axel shook her head, "That doesn't prove anything. You could have heard me arguing with my dad about that."

"Fine, think of something. Think of anything. I'll prove it to you."

Axel nodded and wracked her brain, thinking about something no one except her knew, "Okay. What am I thinking about?"

"You're worried that something's wrong with you," Azrael's face fell, "You think there's something bad inside of you. You dream about a voice who urges you to find it. Sometimes you think you hear it during the day too."

The young Winchester's jaw dropped, "You really can read minds."

Quickly Azrael nodded, "Look, Sam's already out here looking for us. I can hear his thoughts. My grandma must have told him what was going on. Just know, Sam and Dean aren't who you think they are. Sam doesn't kill bugs for a living… And Dean," she took a deep breath and was about to spill the beans when Sam got to them, breathing heavily.

"Girls," he panted, "We've been looking for you."

"We were just playing hide and seek," Axel lied skillfully.

Sam frowned at his niece, knowing the truth but he wasn't going to call her out, "You need to get showered and ready for bed," he explained, "We're gonna be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow," he motioned for the girls to follow him back to the house and they all walked in silence.

Olivia was waiting on the porch for them, "Azrael, what do you think you were doing?"

"I was- I uh. I wanted to show Axel the chickens."

"Young lady," she didn't take her eyes off of her granddaughter, "We spoke of this before our guests arrived. You are not permitted to speak of the-" then she caught herself and turned to Axel, "Sweetheart, would you mind giving us some privacy? I'm afraid Azrael has broken some rules."

Axel hesitated.

"You should go speak with your father. He's quite upset about the way you two left things earlier," the older woman was obviously upset, but she did her best to remain calm with Axel.

She wanted to argue, but this wasn't her house and Sam had gently grabbed her arm and was pulling her back inside. She wanted to scream, hit, punch, and kick. She was angry. The two men that she loved and trusted more than anything were lying straight to her face, and they had been for her entire life. She really wanted the truth.

"Uncle Sam," Axel couldn't meet his eyes.

"Seriously, Axe. You really do need to get some sleep."

"You told me you're in pest control, right?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah."

"So you hunt bugs and stuff?"

"And stuff," he confirmed.

Slowly Axel shook her head that was always his response. Before she had just thought he was being funny, now she realized it was completely evasive, "What's the stuff?"

"Axe, I'm tired. I'm going to bed," he stated curtly, "Go on, Dean's waiting for you."

"I don't want to talk to him," she snapped, causing Sam to recoil, "I'm so sick of all of this."

"Hey," Sam barked back, "Watch your tone."

It wasn't like Sam to get on to her for something like that, and it had her so taken off guard that she almost cried, "I'm sorry," she whispered, walking to the back bedroom.

"Hey," Dean said, looking up from his phone as the door opened and his daughter walked in.

"I'm not talking to you," she stated, avoiding looking at Dean as she grabbed up the clothes bag in search of something clean to put on after her shower.

"You're not?" Dean questioned, "Can I ask why?"

"No," she barked.

"Okay," Dean said calmly, trying to hide his amusement, "Can I ask why I can't ask why?"

"Shut up!"

Dean firmly grabbed her arm and turned her so she was facing him, "Axel Rose," he kept his voice calm but stern, "What is going on with you? You've never been this upset for this long before."

"Yeah well," she barked, "I've never had a dad and an uncle who lied to me about everything before. Or well, I guess I have and I was just too stupid to realize it."

Dean's face fell. Just what the hell did she know and who had told her? "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know," she sighed, "I'm gonna find out though," she pulled away from him and headed into the bathroom.

Once Dean heard the water running he made his way into the living room where Sam and Olivia were talking in hushed voices. As soon as Olivia caught sight of Dean she approached him.

"I'm so sorry," she began, "Azrael swore to me that she wouldn't speak of anything. However, I wasn't aware that she had developed any psychic powers of her own yet and she learned of some things she shouldn't know of."

"I can't believe this," Dean barked, "I knew staying here was a bad idea, Sam," he shook his head, "No wonder Axel's pissed off. What the hell did Azrael tell her?"

"Not much," Sam interrupted, "I got to them before she had much of a chance."

"We're leaving," Dean looked at Olivia, "As soon as Axel gets out of the shower. I'm not going to risk someone telling my daughter this crap."

Olivia sighed, "As sorry as I am that Azzy did what she did, with all due respect Axel does have a right to know."

"I will tell her when the time is right!" Dean barked angrily, "Until then she doesn't need to know."

"I am very sorry, Dean," Olivia sighed, "Just… please, stay the night and get some sleep. The damage has already been done and Azrael won't be bothering you again, I swear."

"How can you promise that?" Dean demanded.

"You can lock your bedroom door, and I will stay up all night to insure no one tells anyone anything they don't need to know," she explained, "You really should get some sleep before you start your trip."

Dean scratched his head but sighed, "You're right," he nodded, "But first thing in the morning we're gone."

"Understandably," she paused, "Dean, I really am very sorry."

The oldest Winchester just nodded before turning to go back into his room and lay down on the bed and waited until Axel made her way back into the room. She lay down on the bed in the dark next to him and turned to face away.

"Still not talking to me?" he asked softly.

No response.

"I love you," he kissed the top of her wet head, "I'll talk to you in the morning," he also turned away from her.


	11. Chapter Ten

_"Come find me," the voice whispered over and over, "You know where I am. You can feel it. You can feel me. I am a part of you. Come find me."_

Axel felt wide awake but she couldn't move, couldn't open her eyes. Everything was dark. It felt like there was this weight on her chest. And she was trying to scream, but her throat was closed up. She kept trying and trying as the voice kept echoing around in her head. It was a calm and commanding voice, repeating itself over and over and over again. It sounded like there were a hundred of the same voices all going at once, all saying the exact same thing.

Dean had been sleeping heavily next to Axel when her screams rang through the room at a volume that was sure to have been heard miles around. He shot straight up like a bullet, his hand reaching for the gun inside the nightstand as he switched the lamp on and saw nothing in the room except for his daughter flailing around on the bed and screaming. He set his gun back down and grabbed her, roughly shaking her.

"Axe!" he yelled, "Axel, wake up!"

But her eyes stayed shut tight as she screamed and flailed her arms and legs all about, like she was trying to get away from someone. This wasn't the first violent nightmare that Axel had ever had in fact when she was younger Dean had watched a horror movie with her and after that she had pretty regular nightmares for a while, but then they seemed to slowly stop. What Dean didn't know is they hadn't stopped. Axel had just learned to live with them. She had learned to tell the difference from reality and what was in her head. But ever since they had left the bunker that was getting harder and harder to do.

"Axel!" Dean yelled loudly, slapping her face hard enough to leave a mark, but also bring her out of her dream.

She was breathing heavy, and wild eyed, but she had never looked more relieved to see her father than she had right at that moment. She threw her arms around him and started sobbing. Dean held her tight and gently rocked her as the bedroom door flew open and Sam was rushing in.

"What's going on?" Sam demanded.

"Shhh," Dean said, rubbing his daughter's back, "It's a nightmare," he explained to his brother, "I got this."

Sam lingered in the doorway a few moments longer before walking away. Dean continued to rock his child and then smiled a little, remembering the best way to calm her. He hadn't needed to use it in a while so it had slipped his mind until just now.

Dean cleared his throat and began to sing, _"She's got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories, where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky,"_ sobs were still wracking her small body and he gently rubbed her back as he continued his song, " _Now and then when I see her face she takes me away to that special place and if I stared too long I'd probably break down and cry. Woah-o-o sweet child of mine. Woah-o-o-o sweet love of mine,"_ the sobs were starting to die down a bit so his singing trailed off.

"Please don't stop," she whispered, wiping her nose on Dean's shirt, which didn't bother him one bit.

"You got it, kid," he took a breath and started the next verse, " _She's got eyes of the bluest skies,"_ which was true, Axel had Castiel's beautiful blue eyes, " _As if they thought of rain, I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain,"_ Dean let his hand gently rake through his daughter's long, dark brown hair, another genetic trait she got from her angelic father, " _Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide. And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by,"_ his voice grew softer as Axel was miraculously falling back to sleep, _"Woah-o-o sweet child of mine. Woah-o-o-o sweet love of mine."_

Like clockwork every time Dean sung that song to her after a nightmare she would fall back to sleep. He hadn't had to do it in a few years now, so he was pretty surprised that it even worked, but he was glad nonetheless. This killed him. Her feeling so terrified and helpless, it was absolutely the last thing that he wanted her to feel.

Once he was sure that she was fully asleep he moved her off of his lap and got off of the bed, heading into the living room where he was sure Sam would still be awake. And he was right, the man was sitting on the couch, looking very stressed.

"She okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "She used to have nightmares all the time. I think all the stress is triggering them again."

Sam took a deep breath, "Man," he ran a hand through his hair, obviously having a hard time forming what he was about to say, "That took me back."

"What are you talking about?" Dean questioned, taking a seat on the couch next to his brother.

"The night Oliver died," he let out a big breath, "Imogen screamed like that. Pulled me out of my sleep. I thought for a second it was years ago."

"Oh," Dean said with a nod and checked his watch, it was four in the morning, "We should hit the road soon."

"Probably," Sam nodded, "Wanna start loading up the Impala?"

"Yeah," but he hesitated, "Sammy."

"What's up?"

"Axel's terrified of thing that aren't real. Hell, she used to be afraid of the Easter Bunny, and you saw her with that nightmare. She was hysterical."

Sam didn't say anything, but locked eyes with his brother as he waited for him to go on.

"If she can't handle her dreams then how the hell is she supposed to deal with the knowledge that there's shit out there in the world a thousand times scarier than whatever she sees in her sleep?"

Sam pondered this for several moments before giving up, "I have no idea, Dean."

Dean nodded, "That's what I thought," he slowly stood up, "Why don't you take the Impala into town and get it gassed up while I get mine and Axel's stuff ready to go?"

Sam nodded, "You have the keys?"

"No," he shook his head, "They're in the guest room. I'll go and get them," Dean crept into the backroom and grabbed them off of the bedside table and walked back into the living room and tossed them to Sam, "Get Imogen some chocolate. It'll help her feel better."

Sam just stood there, looking at his brother, "Why do you keep called Axel Imogen?" he asked, "I've never heard you do it before we got here."

Dean scratched his head feeling a pit in his stomach, "I don't know," he admitted, "I blocked out the thought of our sister for a long damn time. Now we're on our way to bringing her back."

Sam sighed, "I'll be back as soon as possible," he said as he turned and headed out of the house.

Slowly Dean made his way back into the bedroom. Axel was sleeping soundly on the bed and the lamp was still on illuminating the room, so Dean started packing up their bags and he carried them outside and set them on the porch so they would be ready to go when Sam got back.

Dean lay down beside his daughter and dozed back off. She was right there next to him, he didn't have to worry about her getting hurt. All that was after her was her dreams, and those couldn't hurt her, could they?

The next thing Dean knew Sam was gently shaking him awake, "Hey," he whispered, "Are you ready?"

Dean blinked a couple of times so that his brother would come into focus, "Yeah," he nodded, glancing over to see Axel still sleeping beside him, "Is Olivia up? Should we tell her goodbye?"

Sam shook his head, "She just went to bed. I told her goodbye for all of us."

Dean nodded and sat up, yawning and stretching, "Hey," he reached over and gently shook his daughter, "Axe, get up. We've gotta go."

She grunted softly.

"Come on, baby girl."

Sam shook his head, "Why don't I just carry her? She needs the sleep."

"Yes please," she said softly and sweetly.

Dean just shrugged and stood up, slipping his shoes on and grabbing his daughter's, "I'll meet you at the car," he said as he headed out to the Impala and got in the driver's seat, setting Axel's shoes in the back.

Sam carried Axel outside and somehow managed to get the door open without having to set her down. Axel curled up on the backseat and Sam tucked Dean's leather jacket around her before getting in the front seat. And then they were off.

The only sound for the first few hours of the trip was that of the radio and the purr of the engine. It was an early Saturday morning so there wasn't much traffic on the road. Sam was passed out in his seat, so Dean had plenty of time to just think. And think he did. About everything. How the hell was he going to tell his daughter that monsters were real? That demons were real, and as it turns out her mother was an actual demon? Or hell, that he wasn't actually her father and the man that Axel actually shared DNA with was an actual fucking angel? Dean had no clue.

All of these thoughts bouncing around in his head were really overwhelming him. He tried listening to the radio, but he couldn't turn it up loud enough to drown out his thoughts without waking his family members. So he just stayed miserable. That is until the small girl sat up in the backseat, tapped her dad on the shoulder and spoke.

"Daddy, I need to use the bathroom."

Dean nearly jumped out of his skin, and the car swerved violently. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't realized she was awake, "What? Huh?"

She had fallen over in the seat when he had jerked the wheel.

"Sorry," he glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"What the hell?" Sam's tired voice rang out, but Dean just rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Is there a bathroom nearby?" she asked, "I really gotta go."

"I think there's a gas station in a couple miles," he explained, "Think you can hold it until then?"

Axel nodded and sat back in her seat, "How long's it gonna take us to get where we're going?"

"A week or so," Dean explained, "Maybe less if we haul ass."

"Good news though," Sam turned in his seat to smile at his niece, "We're gonna stop in Sioux Falls and see Jody."

Axel's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Dean looked at Sam, "We are?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "Jody's got our passports."

Dean nodded, "Good, she's been raging on me to make a trip up to her."

"Anyways," Sam announced, "We are going to be passing right through Lebanon. So we should swing back by the bunker and pick up a few things."

Dean nodded, "Agreed."

Once again Axel lit up, "Do I get to go see my friends?" she asked.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks but Sam was leaving this one up to Dean.

"No, kiddo. I'm sorry. I don't think we'll have time for that."

Now she sunk back into her seat, a stormy look falling over her, "Great," she muttered.

"Don't do that," Dean stated, "Don't get upset. Let's not have a bad day, okay? I'm sorry you can't see your friends, but it is what it is."

"Fine," she grumbled, "I still need to use the bathroom."

"There's a gas station," Sam pointed, "Pull off there. I need to pee too."

Dean took the exit and pumped gas while Sam and Axel went into the store. He pulled out his phone and dialed Kristen's number. It rang several times before she answered.

"Hello?" her voice was groggy.

"Oh damn," Dean cursed, "I'm sorry. I forgot you're in a different time zone. Did I wake you?"

"Yeah," she admitted, "Don't worry about it. What's up?"

"I was just calling to tell you I'm making my way to you. We left Fort Worth this morning, and we're almost to Oklahoma City. So it's going to be a couple of days, maybe a week, but I can keep you up to date on travels if you want."

"I'd like that," she cleared her throat, "Text me or call me whenever. When you get a good idea of when you'll be in town I'll ask my boss for a couple of days off."

"Awesome," Dean said with a smile, "I'll see you soon, Kris."

"See you then," she hung up the phone.

Dean slipped the device back into his pocket and finished pumping his gas before heading into the store to use the bathroom and pay. Sam and Axel were perusing snacks when he passed by, "Find anything good?" he asked.

Axel held up a bag of Cheetos and a Gatorade.

"Breakfast of champions," Sam said with a roll of his eyes, "She did not learn her eating habits from me, that's for sure."

Dean chuckled, "Hey, Axe. Why don't you get apple juice instead of Gatorade?" he suggested, and then grabbed a banana off a bunch, "You can get the Cheetos, but only if you promise to eat this first, deal?"

Axel smirked and nodded, "Deal," she said turning and heading back to put the Gatorade up and grab herself some juice.

"Wow," Sam looked impressed, "You're really good at this whole Dad thing."

"I try," Dean agreed.

They got back in the car and set out on the road. Dean drove hard and only stopped when someone was begging for a pee break. Axel was still exhausted from her nightmare so she napped in the backseat while Dean drove.

"So," Dean began once he heard his daughter snoring, "I've got a question for you."

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"Azzy," he paused, glancing at his brother, "Are you more than just her uncle?"

Sam's face scrunched up, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dean half smiled, "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Sam was silent.

"Are you her father?" he asked, remembering the conversation he had with Olivia and wanting to know what Sam had to say about it, "Seriously Sam, I want to know."

A sigh escaped Sam, "Maybe," he shrugged his shoulders, "I think I am anyways. It's possible," he took a breath, "She looks just like me, doesn't she?"

Dean nodded.

"Olivia swears up and down that I'm not… But I'm not sure I believe her."

"So why don't you have her tested? I mean, it wouldn't be that hard to do it without Olivia knowing."

"Uh, Dean. That woman can read minds. She would know the second she saw me what I had done. And then I would feel guilty that she knew that I hadn't trusted her. Which she already knows that's how I would feel and … my head hurts."

Dean shook his head, "Damn, I keep forgetting she can read minds."

"Besides, Olivia gave me permission to test her. I wouldn't have to hide it."

"So why don't you have her tested?" Dean questioned, "If you don't believe Olivia."

"I don't know," Sam sighed, "If she's mine then I'm going to feel like I need to take her and raise her and I don't want to do that to Olivia... They need each other," he paused, "And if she's not mine… well, then I'll feel like I lost something."

"So it's kinda like Schrodinger's Cat?" Dean suggested.

Sam made a face at the comparison, "Sure, I guess if you take away the death and the poison."

"I just mean… She's both yours and not yours. You don't know for sure that she's yours, so you don't feel guilty about being just her uncle."

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "That sounds about right."


	12. Chapter Eleven

"Aunt Jody!" Axel squealed with excitement as she jumped out of the still moving Impala pulling into the driveway and bounded across the yard to where Jody was standing.

"Hey kiddo!" Jody wrapped her arms around the girl, "Geeze, you've grown like a foot since the last time that I saw you. What are Sam and Dean feeding you?"

Dean had shut off the car and was walking over, "You know, the usual. Human flesh, goat blood, and if she's really, really good we let her chew on the rat carcasses we find in the basement."

Jody rolled her eyes and let go of Axel so that she could hug Dean, "It's been way too long, Dean."

Dean hugged her back, "I know. I'm sorry."

She pulled back and gently punched his shoulder, "You need to call more often."

A smile crossed Dean's face, though he knew she was serious, "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Where's that brother of yours? I need to give him hell too."

"You mean gigantor? He's passed out on the back seat."

Jody looked passed Dean to the Impala, "Ah, I didn't see his feet pressed up against the window before now."

"Yeah, he took a six hour shift from the bunker to here. He's wrecked. Silly boy. We used to drive fifteen-twenty hours at a time with no breaks."

"Yeah, well," Jody smiled knowingly, "You're getting old."

"Shhh," he narrowed his eyes playfully at her, "Don't remind me."

"Hey, Aunt Jody," Axel interrupted, "Can you take me for a ride in your police car?"

"If it's okay with your dad it's okay with me," they both looked to Dean for approval.

Dean sighed softly, knowing he was going to have to be the bad guy, "We can't stay," he explained, "We're kinda on a schedule."

Jody frowned, "You can't even stay for dinner?"

A sad groan escaped him, "I really wish we could. We're just in a hurry."

"Daddy," Axel whined, "Please."

"I cooked and everything," the woman argued.

Dean just shook his head, "We really can't stay."

Jody frowned but nodded, "That's disappointing. But I get it… Let me pack the food up for you guys, I don't want it to go to waste. Come on," she motioned for Dean to follow, "The passports are inside anyways."

Dean nodded, "Come on, Axe," he motioned for his daughter to follow as he headed inside behind Jody.

"So," Jody lead them into the kitchen and started packing the food she had cooked into plastic containers, "Gonna tell me where you're heading?"

"Niagara Falls," Dean lied, "Thought Axel deserved a little vacation."

"Mhm," Jody nodded and looked to Axel, "Hey kid, if you go into Claire's old room there's something for you on the bed. She knew you were coming and asked me to give it to you."

Axel squealed with excitement and skipped down the hall to the room that she knew very well as Claire's. She had spent many nights giggling and chatting with the girl who was the closest thing that she had to a sister (though Axel didn't know how true that actually was), the two had been basically inseparable one summer.

"So you took Axel out of school in the middle of the year to take her to Canada to see a waterfall?" Jody asked skeptically.

Dean nodded, looking away from the woman, "Uh, yeah," he coughed, "Thought it would be a nice family bonding trip, educational, all that fun stuff."

"Please," the woman scoffed, "You and Sam haven't gone anywhere together since your hunting days."

"No," Dean shook his head and scrunched his face up defensively, "Sammy and I go places all the time. Don't be ridiculous," though he knew she could see right through his façade.

Jody just sighed, "I trust you'd tell me if there was anything I could do?" she wanted to press him for more details, she was going to worry like crazy about them, but she knew if Dean wasn't telling her it was for a good reason.

He nodded.

"Okay," Jody handed him the plastic containers, "Let's go get your passports," she headed into the study and picked up a large envelope off of the table, "Everything you need is inside of here. Fake IDs, passports, birth certificates, the works."

Dean took those from her too, "So how is Claire?" he asked.

Jody smiled, "She's amazing. Better than I could have ever hoped."

"That boyfriend of her's?" Dean asked, "I don't trust him. And I don't like him."

"I know you don't," She slowly shook her head back and forth, "He's a great guy, Dean. He really is. He loves her so much. I have no doubt that he would die for her."

"She's too good for him," he stated firmly, not willing to be swayed by Jody's praise of the man.

"Of course she is," she chuckled, "Oh! She's pregnant again."

Dean's eyes went wide, "You're kidding right?"

"Nope. Baby number two is on the way."

"You think she woulda learned the first time what causes that," he said with a groan of displeasure.

Jody just rolled her eyes, "They planned both their kids."

"See, that I don't get," he semi-joked, "She's just a kid and now she's got two kids."

"She and Imogen aren't too far apart in age, and may I remind you that your sister had her two way younger."

"Please don't remind me," Dean groaned softly, "Guess I should try to track them down sometime."

The woman smiled, "I know for a fact that Claire would love that. You are her daughter's god father, after all."

Dean nodded, "Maybe once everything blows over I'll drop in and give that guy a piece of my mind. Throw some condoms at him or something."

Jody just rolled her eyes and smiled, "I'll send them your love," she paused, "Oh, she's engaged now. She's gonna ask you to walk her down the aisle."

"Why's it always me?" he feigned annoyance, "She doesn't want Cas to do it? I mean, he's technically her father, right?"

Jody just shook her head, "Don't even think about bringing that up to her. She'll blow your head off."

"So I see having those kids hasn't chilled her out," Dean said with a cocky smile.

"Nope," she confirmed, "Actually, pregnant Claire is WAY scarier than hunter-mode Claire. No doubt about it."

"So what's it like being a grandma?" Dean teased.

Once again she rolled her eyes, "Don't make me arrest you, Winchester."

A laugh escaped Dean but then he sighed sadly, "I'm sorry Jody, we really do have to get on the road."

"I know," she hugged him again, "Don't be a stranger. I'm serious."

"I won't," he said before heading into the hallway and calling for his daughter, "Axel!" he yelled through the house, "Let's go."

Axel came down the hallway holding a fuzzy stuffed animal that Dean immediately recognized. It was the same stuffed cat that Castiel had given Claire on her eighteenth birthday when they had been working the case looking for Claire's mom. Claire was one of the few people who knew the truth about who Axel was and who her biological parents were. Claire had never met Imogen, but Jody had told her the truth. Dean wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but if anyone had a right to know it was Claire.

It was never a problem though. If anything it was actually for the better. Claire more or less accepted Axel as her sister and they loved each other tremendously. Dean wasn't sure if they could actually be considered sisters. Jimmy was Claire's father, and Castiel was Axel's, but Castiel was using Jimmy's body when Axel was conceived and she greatly resembled Castiel's vessel, so logically she must have some of Jimmy's DNA along with Castiel. So possibly they were half-sisters, or quarter sisters, or something like that. Dean wasn't sure, and it hurt his head even thinking about it.

"What'cha got there?" Dean asked, already knowing the answer.

"Claire knows she's been eyeing it since she was a tiny thing," Jody stated, "She decided it was time she had it."

Dean nodded slowly, "Axel, you should probably use the bathroom. We'll be on the road for a while."

"I'm gonna go wake up Sam," Jody explained as she headed outside.

Dean followed Jody out, balancing the food and the envelope, he was thankful that when he made to the Impala and hadn't dropped any of it. He damn sure was going to want to pig out on the home cooked food later. Back when he was younger and he and Sam travelled, eating all of the fast food hadn't bothered him, but for the last twelve years he was used to cooking at home and all of this fast food wasn't sitting well with him. Long story short, he was happy to have Jody's cooking.

* * *

"Hey, Uncle Sam," Axel whispered, keeping her voice as quiet as she could. She didn't want to wake Dean. He'd driven all night just to get them to their current stop. They had finally crossed the Canadian border and next up was going to be Alaska, but that was still quite a ways away.

"Yeah?" Sam whispered from his bed.

"Are you awake?"

"No," he teased, sitting up and looking at her in the dim room, "If you wanna talk let's go outside and not wake up your dad. Better yet, I bet that bookstore across the street is open, let's go check it out."

Axel nodded excitedly and slowly started to get off the bed and pull on her shoes. Dean rolled over in the bed they had been sharing and opened his eyes when he realized she wasn't right next to him anymore.

"Where you going?" he asked groggily, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Axel and I are gonna go check out the bookstore that's across the street," Sam informed his brother, "You get some shut eye. We won't be bothering you."

"Mkay, take care of my baby," Dean mumbled as he rolled back over and fell asleep, already snoring before they could even get out of the door.

Sam grabbed his wallet and slipped on his boots before following Axel out the door, but not forgetting to grab their newly purchased coats. Today wasn't too cold, but Sam made her put it on anyways and the two walked across the street together. Sam held open the door to the bookstore as Axel walked in and he stayed close as they both browsed for books.

"Did you finish the Harry Potter series yet?" Sam asked casually.

"No, not yet," Axel picked up a book and glanced at the back cover.

"What?" Sam whined, "Seriously? I bought you the whole book series for your birthday last year. I spent a bundle getting you the special edition hardbacks and everything."

"I know," she sighed, "I got halfway through _The Goblet of Fire_ and then Dad took my books away."

"What?" Sam barked, "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Because I hadn't done anything except read them for like a week straight. He wanted me to go out with him and I yelled at him to go away. The very next morning he had hidden all my books."

"What a jerk," Sam shook his head but chuckled, "Also," he patted her head, "That's my girl."

Axel smiled at him and picked up another book, this one was missing the cover, "Did you get through Inkheart?"

Sam groaned, "Ah come on, that's for kids."

She shot him a glare, "Did you even give it a shot?"

Sam shifted from one foot to another, "Uh-"

"Exactly," she shook her head and tutted, not putting the book back as she had decided she wanted to buy it.

"So," Sam picked up a book and pretended to read the back cover, "How are you doing?"

"Fine I guess," She shrugged, "Pretty hungry."

"No," he shook his head, "I mean, how are you dealing with everything? Finding out… Finding out what you did. Dean told me what y'all talked about the other day. Your head's gotta be spinning."

"Oh… That. Yeah, I think I'm okay."

Sam frowned, "Axe, you can talk to me."

"Really Uncle Sam," she looked at him, "It's not like he told me much. But hey, if you want to fill in the blanks I'm all for it."

Sam let out a small sigh and put back the book he had been pretending to look at, "We should probably be getting back," he said uncomfortably as he took the few books she had picked out from her, "I'll go pay for this," he said, not even bothering to look at the titles.

She expected him to turn down her request for more information, she knew that she wasn't going to be getting any information about her mother or basically anything else from him. Both Sam and her dad had made that clear. But every time she asked and she was ignored it made the fire inside of her grow hotter and hotter. This was her life… Why did everyone know more about it than she did?

She was picturing her mother as a beautiful, fierce women, who was more or less unstoppable. In her mind her mother wanted to be with her, but just couldn't for one reason or another. However, she knew when she was older the two would meet and hug and cry and then she would explain everything and Axel would forgive her and they would be the best of friends… You know, something you might read in a book. Axel loved books.

She slowly made her way out of the bookstore but stood by the door until Sam joined her. He handed her the bag of books and the two started walking back across the street to the motel. It was a short walk, which both were thankful for because this silence was awkward and uncomfortable.

"Hey, can I sit outside and read? I haven't gotten to do that in a while," she asked once they got back into the motel parking lot.

Sam sighed but shrugged, "I guess. I'm gonna leave the door open and you need to stay in sight," he explained.

Axel nodded, "Yes sir," they were now standing outside the motel room. She plopped down on the ground with her back up against the wall and stretched her legs out so the sun would shine on them, "Thank you, Uncle Sam."

He looked at her, "For what?"

She half smiled and held up her bag of books, "Why, the books of course. Gotta thank my favorite uncle for keeping me literate."

He smirked, "I'm your only uncle."

"That I know of," she teased.

Sam chuckled and walked inside, propping the door open with the chair and then going about his business.

The first book that Axel pulled out of her bag was one she had grabbed on impulse. It was badly damaged, here was no front cover or even a title page and the spine was so well worn that she had no idea what the name of the book even was. It was so torn up that it had only cost Sam a quarter. There was something about damaged books that appealed to Axel. She had no idea what the book was about or what she was getting into, she liked to be surprised … She had no idea just how surprised she would be.

She held the badly worn paperback in her hand and glanced down at the page which was smeared with some orange dust that was most likely from someone eating Cheetos while reading. Now Axel was hungry for Cheetos, though, she didn't dare ask. She knew the second her father was awakened that he would want her to come in the room. She was sick of being cooped up, she liked being outside.

So silently she focused back on the beat up book and began to read.

" _On April 21, 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Janesville – a blue two-door Caprice._

Oh my god was this going to be a book about cars? Axel almost set the book down to fish out one that would be a little less boring, but something stopped her and she read on.

 _There was a big ceremony, speeches. The lieutenant governor even showed up. Three days later, another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her. But they should have, because this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car – no, the most important object – in pretty much the whole universe._

Axel chuckled to herself. She loved it when books would coincidentally parallel with her life. It made her feel like she was part of the story. Her dad had a '67 Impala, and damn did he love that car. Hell, it was almost like this book was speaking directly about him. That car was absolutely the most important object to her father.

 _She was first owned by Sal Moriarty, an alcoholic with two ex-wives and three blocked arteries. On weekends, he'd drive around giving Bibles to the poor "gettin' folks right for Judgment Day." That's what he said. Sam and Dean don't know any of this, but if they did, I bet they'd smile._

 _After Sal died, she ended up at Rainbow Motors, a used-car lot in Lawrence, where a young marine bought her on impulse. That is, after a little advice from a friend. I guess that's where this story begins._

 _And here's where it ends."_


	13. Chapter Twelve

The barely bound book fell from Axel's hands and into her lap. Sam and Dean… the book had mentioned them by name. Now, that could have been a coincidence, it really could have. But their names plus mention of the Impala… Could that be a coincidence? Yes, of course. There's no way that this is a book about her dad and uncle. Just coincidence. Pure coincidence. But then it mentioned Lawrence… Her dad and uncle were both born in Kansas, so was Axel. They all lived in Kansas, not very far from Lawrence.

Pushing the thought from her mind Axel picked the book back up from her lap and turned the page, reading on. Every fiber of her being told her to stop, but she couldn't. She had to read more, she had to know more.

 _"The Impala, of course, has all the things other cars have... and a few things they don't. But none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important. The army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray – it's still stuck there. The Legos that Dean shoved into the vents – to this day, heat comes on and they can hear 'em rattle. These are the things that make the car theirs – really theirs. Even when Dean rebuilt her from the ground up, he made sure all these little things stayed, 'cause it's the blemishes that make her beautiful. The Devil doesn't know or care what kind of car the boys drive."_

Was Axel hallucinating? Were these words really written on this page? She'd been in the Impala enough times to know that everything that this writer had just listed was inside of the car, from the army man to the Legos. But still she found herself standing up, clutching the book to her chest, walking over to the car, and opening the back door. She had to see them now, even though she already knew they were there.

The first thing she saw was the army man, the one Sam had shoved into the ashtray. It was there. She looked back at the book, the words were still there on the page, and she hadn't just imagined them. Axel would have to turn the car on to hear the rattling, but she knew it was there too. Her heart was racing.

"Axel?" she heard Sam's voice calling her from the room and then peeking his head out the door, "We had a deal, stay in sight."

Axel dropped the book on the ground, almost like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, "S-sorry," she stuttered out, slamming the door to the Impala, but not before taking a second look inside to make sure that she hadn't just hallucinated the army man the book had just spelled out.

"You okay?" he asked, walking over to her and bending to pick up her book.

Quickly Axel snatched the book from him, "I'm fine," she spat, "I just, I uh… I was looking for something."

"What is it?" he asked, "Maybe I can help you find it."

"No!" she barked and shook her head.

"What's going on with you?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, I'm sorry," she looked down towards her feet and noticed that the amulet she had stolen from Dean's bedside table that she kept tucked inside her shirt was now showing.

And then Sam noticed it too, "Dean gave you that?" he asked, reaching for it and rolling it around in his hand, but not taking it off of her.

She looked away, "No. He didn't."

"Then how'd you get it?" he wasn't being accusatory, just genuinely curious.

"I uh," she cleared her throat, "I stole it… Please, don't tell him."

Sam frowned, "Why'd you steal it?"

"I didn't mean too. I just found it and I was gonna take it to show and tell, but then we were on the road and I didn't put it back. I didn't want to lose it. I uh- I," she started to stammer and she was becoming irrationally upset.

"Axel," Sam stated putting a hand on each of her shoulders and meeting her eye, "Calm down. I'm not gonna tell him."

"You promise?"

"Yeah, I promise. Don't worry," he paused, "You know, I gave him that when we were kids."

"You did?" she asked, "How come?"

"Well, it was originally a Christmas present for my dad, your grandpa, but he left us in a motel and didn't call or show up on Christmas day like he promised he would. Dean was the one who was there for me, like always, so he got it. He wore it for the longest time."

"How come he doesn't wear it anymore?"

Sam sighed, "It's a long story."

She frowned slightly, "Lemme guess, one you can't tell me?"

He just looked at her, and that was all the answer that she needed.

"Okay great," she said with a nod, "Well, I'm gonna go back to reading," she held up her book.

"I got that amulet from a man who was more like a dad to me than my actual dad was," he explained further, "I'm sure you've heard about him, Bobby."

Axel nodded, "Yeah, I've heard about him."

"He gave it to me to give to dad, told me it was really special. It wasn't until years later I learned how it was special."

She stared at him waiting for him to continue.

Sam couldn't help but smile, she really did have her mother in her. Imogen was always ready to learn about supernatural things and abilities, Axel was too, the only difference was that Imogen knew they were real, while Axel thought of it as pretend and Sam hoped to keep it that way for as long as he could.

"Allegedly the amulet will glow hot in God's presence."

Axel rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right."

"It's true," Sam said with a grin, "I mean, allegedly anyways. Guess you'd actually have to be in God's presence and he'd have to actually want to be seen, but I'd be willing to bet it works."

Axel nodded slowly, "Okay," she tucked the amulet back into her shirt, "I'm gonna get back to reading."

Sam nodded and walked back with her to the motel door, "Stay in sight, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Sam," she sat down and opened the book back up and read on.

Sam left her alone, Dean slept for a long time, and Axel found herself devouring every word, every passage, and every single detail that this author had written. The pages turned, she couldn't get enough. But at the same time with every sentence she read her fears were more and more apparent.

" _In between jobs, Sam and Dean would sometimes get a day – sometimes a week, if they were lucky. They'd pass the time lining their pockets. Sam used to insist on honest work, but now he hustles pool, like his brother. They could go anywhere and do anything. They drove a thousand miles for an Ozzy show, two days for a Jayhawks game. And when it was clear, they'd park her in the middle of nowhere, sit on the hood, and watch the stars... for hours... without saying a word. It never occurred to them that, sure, maybe they never really had a roof and four walls but they were never, in fact, homeless."_

There wasn't a lot that Axel knew about Sam and Dean's past, but the fact that they used to travel for work and they certainly lived out of their car and dodgy motel rooms was knowledge that they had bestowed upon her. She knew that for the longest time the Impala had been home to her father and uncle.

The more that Axel read of this book the more that the things in this book were making way too much sense. It scared her, probably more than anything in her entire life had. But she wouldn't let herself stop, so she read on and on until the very last page.

" _This is the last Dean and Bobby will see of each other for a very long time. And, for the record, at this point next week, Bobby will be hunting a rugaru outside of Dayton. But not Dean. Dean didn't want Cas to save him. Every part of him, every fiber he's got, wants to die, or find a way to bring Sam back. But he isn't gonna do either. Because he made a promise."_

This was almost the same exact story that Dean had made up and used to tell her when she was younger or she couldn't sleep. The one about Sam saving the world from the devil. Hell, both her father and Sam were named in this book. Bobby was named in this book. How the hell could this be? The only thing different from this story and the one that Dean had told her when she was a kid was the one he told her ended happily. Sam didn't end up in hell. Dean had never even mentioned someone named Lisa.

She paused to think for a moment… Could this Lisa woman be her mother? Was that why Dean had never mentioned her before? No… This was a story. This wasn't real. None of it. All of it was purely a coincidence, she kept trying to convince herself of that anyways. But she wasn't an idiot.

" _So, what's it all add up to? It's hard to say. But me, I'd say this was a test... for Sam and Dean. And I think they did all right. Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, they made their own choice. They chose family. And, well... isn't that kinda the whole point?"_

" _No doubt – endings are hard. But then again... nothing ever really ends, does it?"_

Axel's heart was racing, she could feel the blood roaring in her ears. What the hell had she just read? Slowly she let her eyes trace over the words of the last few pages, rereading, making sure that this book was real.

Then something else clicked together in her head. Castiel… He was in this book. He was described too, he was wearing a trench coat, and he had a blue tie, bright blue eyes, and brown hair. If she closed her eyes and thought long and hard she was able to picture the man.

He was sitting there across from her at the bunker. He had touched her, they had locked eyes. Axel had seen this man, and on some level she had felt something, some kind of a connection. Dean had called him by name. She met him. It hadn't all been a dream like Dean had told her.

Here's what she knew was true: Castiel was definitely real. Her dad had lied to her and she didn't know why, but there was a good reason. Axel just had to figure out what it was.

Axel flipped to the last page where there was a little blurb about the author, Carver Edlund and about the fandom surrounding the book. There was even a picture of him, he was pretty geeky looking, or at least that's what she thought.

She stood up and walked back into the motel room where she slipped her book back into her bag. She didn't want Sam or her dad finding this book, if they knew she had it, knew what it was about, they would be sure to take it from her, and she couldn't risk that. Not right now, not when it was possibly the only thing that was telling her the truth.

She found herself laying down on the small couch that was in the room and focused her attention on the television until she passed out. She hadn't even realized how tired she was or how long she had been sitting outside reading, but the sun was just going down as she was falling asleep, and it wasn't long after that Dean was waking up.

He stretched and groaned, looking at his sleeping daughter on the couch and wondering silently why she hadn't just crawled into bed with him like she always did. Looking at her small form curled up on that equally small couch brought him back to the days of his little sister who used to do the same thing. She would curl up and pass out and Dean never understood how she could sleep so easily on there, but she had done it with minimal complaint… Okay, maybe a lot of complaint, but she had preferred that to being left behind.

The oldest Winchester in the room sighed softly, laying a blanket over her and heading to the bathroom to shower and get dressed. They would be leaving here pretty soon and Dean was going to drive through the night. He hadn't had to drive like this in years, and it sure was taking a toll on his body. He was finally starting to realize that he was getting old.

He showered and dressed and came back into the room, gently shaking his younger brother awake.

Sam peeked an eye open and looked at Dean, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Dean assured, "We just need to cover some more ground. You and Axe can sleep in the car. I'll drive."

Sam groaned but sat up and stretched, "Okay," he yawned, "You gonna wake up the kid?"

Dean nodded, "Is she okay?" he asked, glancing from his brother to his daughter, "You didn't say something to her again about sleeping in bed with me, did you?"

Sam shook his head, "No, man. She was watching TV and just passed out. Don't read too much into it, I think she just didn't want to wake you."

"You're probably right," Dean agreed, "C'mon, get your stuff together," he said, walking over and bending down, "Axel, it's time to get up," he said softly.

Axel startled awake, "Geeze, Dad," she snapped, sitting up and breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she wiped the sweat from her head, "Just didn't hear you coming."

"Were you having a bad dream?"

"Dad," she sighed, "Step off."

Dean literally took a step back and scratched his head. She was never this snipey when she woke up or even just in general, "What crawled up your butt?"

Axel looked at him, "Excuse me?"

"I mean, you obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed. What's the matter?"

She just rolled her eyes, "Are we leaving?" she asked, "Or did you wake me up just to gripe at me?"

"Yes, get your jacket. You can sleep in the car."

"Fine," she found her jacket and pulled it on, even though it really wasn't cold enough for one, and she grabbed up her backpack.

Neither Dean nor Axel said anything else to each other. They all piled in the car and in less than an hour both Sam and Axel were snoring. Dean kept his music low, but drove contently. This wasn't so bad. He had the two most important people in his life. What did he have to be unhappy about? Besides everything that was soon to unfold.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

The next day the Winchester trio decided to stop off early that way they could refresh and relax. Tomorrow was going to be the last big stretch before they got to where they were going. So they were checking into a motel right at check in time, they all got showered and Sam took their dirty laundry down to the motel laundry room and started their laundry leaving Dean and Axel in the room and the girl was going stir crazy while Dean was trying to rest.

"I'm bored!" she whined from Sam's bed at her attempting to sleep father.

Dean groaned and turned away from her, "Watch TV," he muttered.

"There's nothing on."

"Read a book."

"I finished it," she admitted, her voice wavering a little, but Dean was too tired to notice.

Another loud groan escaped Dean as he opened the drawer of the bedside table and pulled out a very worn copy of the bible. He tossed it onto the opposite bed where his daughter was sitting cross-legged, "Read that," he grumbled, "Learn how to be a good person. Pretty sure 'let thy father sleep' is written in there somewhere."

"Daddy!" another whine escaped, "I'm bored!"

Dean sighed as he finally sat up and blinked sleepily, "Why didn't you go do laundry with Sam?"

"Because that's even more boring."

"Well, how am I supposed to entertain you?" he asked unhappily.

She scratched her head, "Let's go get something to eat?" she suggested.

"If I feed you will you let me sleep?"

"Yes!" she cheered.

"Fine," Dean stood up and stretched, "Let's go."

"Should we ask Uncle Sam to come?"

Dean shook his head, "He's doing laundry. We'll bring him something," he grabbed his wallet off of the bedside table and slipped it and his phone back into his pockets, "Come on," he said, snatching up his keys and heading out of the room with his daughter, "What do you want to eat?" he asked, noticing it was getting dark, "Options are probably pretty limited since it's getting late."

Axel just shrugged her shoulders and got into the Impala with Dean. The two drove around for a little while just looking for a place. They ended up settling on a quaint little diner that wasn't exactly the cleanest place in the world, but Dean had certainly eaten in worse places.

"Can I take your order?" a young, attractive waitress smiled at Dean.

"Sure," Dean smiled back innocently, "I'll have a BLT," he looked to his daughter, "What do you want, baby?" Dean was proud of himself, it appeared to him that the waitress was flirting with him, the way she smiled and gently tossed her hair. He wasn't going to engage though, she wasn't much older than his daughter after all.

"Can I get pancakes?" Axel asked the waitress.

"Sure sweetie. Just regular?"

"Chocolate chip?"

"Absolutely," she took the menus from them and headed into the kitchen.

"So," Dean yawned, "You enjoying the trip?"

Axel frowned, "I'm missing a lot of school."

"You'll be back soon," he assured her, "Maybe not the same school, but school."

She sighed and played with her cup of water, "Great," she mumbled.

"Axe, I'm sorry."

She stood up, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

Dean just nodded and didn't move to follow her.

Slowly Axel made her way to the bathroom. She had finished using the stall and was washing her hands when the waitress entered.

"Hi," she smiled brightly at Axel.

"Hi," Axel greeted.

The waitresses smile didn't falter, "What's your name?"

"Axel."

She offered her hand, "Hi Axel," they shook, "My name's Shelby."

"Nice to meet you," Axel was feeling rather friendly, it had been a while since she had someone other than her dad and Sam to talk to.

"Axel, do you mind if I ask how old you are?"

"I'm eleven," she stated, "I'll be twelve in a couple of days."

"Oh wow. You're almost a teenager. That's awesome."

"I know! I'm excited. Once I'm thirteen my dad says he's gonna teach me how to drive."

"That sounds like fun," Shelby matched her excitement, "Is that your dad out there?"

Axel nodded, "Yeah, we're on a road trip."

"Oh yeah? Where are you going?"

"Alaska."

"What's in Alaska?"

"He said we're visiting a friend. I don't really know."

"Is your mommy with you?"

"No," she shook her head, "Just me, my dad, and my uncle Sam."

"Where's your mom?"

"I don't have one."

Shelby nodded, "Me either. I was raised by my dad too. I always wanted a mom, someone to talk to about girl things. It gets kinda lonely being raised with just guys, doesn't it?"

Slowly Axel nodded, feeling a little guilty for admitting that. She loved her dad dearly and she had never vocalized what she was about to say, but something made the young girl trust this woman, "I feel bad," she admitted, "I wanna be back home instead of on this trip because at least back home I have girl friends and stuff to talk to. I don't even know when I'm gonna get to go back home. Daddy says I might even be switching schools," she sighed softly, "I don't want to switch schools. I want everything to go back to the way it used to be."

"Why can't it?" Shelby asked.

"I don't know. Dad won't tell me, he says I'm too young to understand," she shrugged her shoulders, "I think he just wants to make me miserable."

"Aw sweetie, I'm sorry to hear that," she paused briefly, "You know… You don't have to go with your dad… You can stay in one place, if that's what you really want to do."

Axel crinkled her face, "What are you talking about? I have to go. He's my dad, I have to do what he tells me."

She shook her head, "No sweetie, you have a choice. I know you don't think so, but you can decide what's best for you."

"I'm just a kid."

"True," she nodded, "But maybe you have a friend or someone that you can go and stay with. Someone who won't move you around."

"I don't know anyone like that," Axel explained, "Besides, my dad would never let me."

Shelby nodded, "Well, you don't have to ask him. If he doesn't know where you are he can't stop you."

Axel slowly nodded, she liked what she was hearing, "But where would I go?"

"Me and my husband would love to have you stay with us," she began, "We can't have kids of our own, we could adopt you. You could be our kid forever."

"I don't know," she paused and scratched her head, "I think I would miss my dad."

"I understand," Shelby nodded, "But, if your dad really cared about you would he have taken you out of the school that you loved? I bet he didn't even ask you. Like you said, he is just trying to make you miserable. A dad who loved you never would have done something like that, right?"

Axel was silent. This woman was right. If her dad loved her he wouldn't be doing this. He wouldn't be driving her across the country and lying to her every time she turned around. He would have told her the truth from the beginning. About her mother. About Castiel. About everything. You don't lie to people you love.

"Think about it, sweetie," she smiled brightly, "You don't have to decide right now. Come find me after you eat… Just don't tell your dad or he for sure won't let you come. But, if he doesn't know he can't stop you."

"Okay," Axel said softly, heading out of the bathroom and back to the table where she sat in silence and waited for the food to come, and then when it did come she filled the uncomfortable silence by shoveling the food down her throat as quickly as she could.

"Oh my god do you ever quit talking?" Dean joked after being basically ignored several times of trying to make conversation, "Cat got your tongue?"

Axel huffed.

"Hey," Dean leaned forward and lay his hand over her own, "What's the matter?"

"Don't touch me," she barked, pulling her hand back and laying it in her lap.

Dean recoiled, "Did I do something? Did I say something that pissed you off?"

"I don't want to talk to you."

He scoffed, "Tough. What's got you so ticked off?"

"You!" she barked.

"What did I do this time, Axel?" he breathed out in frustration, his patience with her ever changing moods was growing very thin.

"I just wanna go back to school! I don't want to ride around in the car with you and Uncle Sam and go to Alaska. It's stupid there and cold. I don't want to do it." That wasn't it at all. Well, maybe a small part of it, but truly her outburst had more to do with the book she had read. And all the lies that she now knew for sure were lies, and all of the confusion that went with that.

"Axe," Dean took a deep breath trying not to lose his temper, "I know you don't want to go, God knows I know. You haven't exactly kept that to yourself. But point is, we're going, all of us. And the quicker you realize that and get on board the less miserable that you're gonna be," he paused, "But quite frankly whether you like it or not it is happening and I'm getting really sick of your constant crabbiness. I love you kid, but we've talked about this a thousand times now. Every five minutes you're changing your mind about being angry," he kept his tone calm the whole time, but it didn't make a difference.

"I don't care!" she barked, standing up, "I don't want to do this anymore."

Dean groaned, "You don't have a choice. Until you're eighteen you have to go where I tell you to go."

"That's bullshit!" she yelled at him, surprising herself a little as she'd never cursed at her father or anywhere that he could hear her before.

Now Dean was starting to get upset and he stood up in front of her, "Axel Rose," he growled lowly, "Apologize right now."

"No!" she argued, "You apologize."

"I have. Over and over again. You're the one who's being unreasonable. Just like your-" but he stopped himself.

"Just like who?" she asked, swallowing hard, "Just like my mother?" she shook her head, "Who is she?" she almost asked about Lisa. The name almost rolled off of her tongue. But it didn't. She stopped herself. There would have been no going back after that, and she wasn't ready for that. Not yet anyways.

Dean was silent.

Axel shook her head and turned away.

"Where are you going?" he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Bathroom," she barked pulling out of his loose grip, her voice starting to crack.

Dean waited until she was out of earshot before apologizing to everyone in the diner who was now staring at him after the scene that Axel had just made.

"Don't worry about it," an elderly man, who was sitting with his wife, smiled, "We raised four daughters. They are moody little shits. But damn it all if every last tantrum isn't worth it."

Dean half smiled as he sunk back into the booth, "Thanks."

Axel wasn't in the bathroom more than a minute when the waitress Shelby was joining her.

"That was a big fight," she looked sadly at Axel, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she paused, "I want to go with you. I've made up my mind."

Shelby's face lit up, "You do? That's amazing!" she squealed happily, "My husband is actually here just in case you wanted to go, he's waiting around back," Shelby went over and opened up the bathroom window, "Go right down the ally and get into the car. I'll be out in five minutes."

Without another thought Axel climbed out the window and ran down the alleyway, doing her best to avoid any windows so Dean wouldn't see her. She almost immediately saw the car and there was a man leaning up against it.

"Hello," the older man smiled at her, "You must be Axel. My wife was telling me all about you. She called me on the phone and told me to get down here as fast as I could. She said I had to meet you," he offered her his hand and they shook, "I'm Theodore. But you can call me Teddy."

Axel smiled, "It's nice to meet you."

"So Axel, did Shelby tell you what was going to happen?"

Axel nodded, "She said I could come and live with you guys."

Teddy nodded, "Yeah, absolutely," he paused, "There's just one little thing you have to do first to really be a member of our family."

"What's that?"

"It'll probably be a little uncomfortable at first, but you'll be just fine," he informed her, "And once it's done you're going to feel like a completely different person. Better, stronger, faster. I promise, it's all going to be worth it when it's over."

Axel stared at him, starting to feel a little uneasy.

"Don't be afraid," he said soothingly, creeping slowly towards her.

But her instincts told her otherwise, and she was suddenly very, very afraid.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

The moon must have moved from behind the clouds right as Teddy smiled as there was just enough light to show the man's sharp, pointed teeth.

"I uh," Axel shifted uncomfortably, "I think I wanna go back to my dad."

Teddy frowned, "Sweetheart, this is going to help you. I promise."

She was trembling.

"Don't be afraid," he assured her, "It won't hurt for too terribly long."

Axel tried to run but the man had grabbed her and pinned her up against a brick wall, "Stop!" she wailed, "Please!"

"You'll be okay," he cooed at her as her held her tight and took a bite out of his wrist, forcing the blood into her mouth. She tried to close it, but her grabbed her jaw and held it open, "It's all going to be all right," he promised again and then when he was sure she had ingested enough he let go and dropped her to the ground.

"Teddy!" Shelby was running to him, "We have to get the hell out of here, the man in there is going crazy looking for her. I think he might be a hunter."

"What about the girl?" he asked, "Should we take her?"

"No, if we do that he'll track us down."

"I already started changing her though. She drank my blood."

Axel was curled up on the ground, shaking with her hands over her ears. Every sound was magnified unbearably.

Shelby bent down and got Axel's attention, "Sweetie. Very soon you'll start feeling better. You'll need to drink blood, any human will do, but I suggest that bastard father or yours who drug you out here. The blood will make you strong and fast. Then come find us."

Axel had her arms wrapped tightly around herself, it felt like her insides were on fire. She wanted to scream.

Shelby put a hand on Axel's cheek, "You'll be able to sense us, I promise. Just stay away from light, it will burn badly until you're more used to it," then she stood up and looked at Teddy, "Let's go."

Teddy and Shelby got into the car and sped away. Axel couldn't move and she kept her hands over her ears trying to block out the horribly loud noises. But it wasn't long before her hypersensitive hearing honed in on something. At first it sounded like a drum, over and over and over again, getting closer and closer each second. Then she could smell it, It without a doubt the most amazing thing Axel had smelled in her entire life, like a nice, juicy steak.

When she opened her eyes to investigate she was immediately blinded by a street light. She hissed instinctively and then stood up, letting her newfound sense of smell guide her way. Her vision was changed slightly too, now it was almost like a heat sensor. She spotted someone walking near her and she was just about to pounce, sink her teeth in, and drink them. She didn't even realize it was wrong, she didn't even realize it was what she was about to do. It was just instinct.

"Axel!" her name was called from behind her, pulling her out of her hunting mode.

She flipped around to see Dean coming towards her, she didn't realize this but if it hadn't been for him that unsuspecting human would have been dead.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" he demanded, "I was going crazy looking for you."

He was approaching, looking straight at her. With every step he was smelling tastier and tastier. She could hear the blood pumping through his veins.

"Hello?" he said, now so close she could almost taste him, "Earth to Axel?" he waved his hand in front of her face.

She took a step back, "Stay away," she hissed.

Dean frowned, "What's going on with you?" then he noticed there was blood on her face, "What happened?" he asked, reaching his hand over to wipe the blood the vampire had left behind, thinking she must have hurt herself.

"Don't touch me!" she roared, taking another step back and falling over a stack of empty boxes.

"What the hell?" Dean asked.

His heart was quickening, it was taking everything in her not to rip him limb from limb, "I'm so hungry," she groaned out.

"You just ate," he started to help her up.

"No!" she yelled at him, her fangs now showing, "I don't want to hurt you."

Dean was frozen, he couldn't believe what he had just seen, "Axel," he cleared his throat.

"It's just a bad dream," she reasoned, "You're gonna wake me up, we're gonna be back at the bunker, and I'm gonna go to school. It's gonna be okay," her eyes were shut tight.

"Axe," he took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, "What happened?"

"I'm dreaming," she repeated.

"No, kid, this is no dream," he was doing his best not to panic.

"This isn't real," she reasoned, "Vampires aren't real."

He wanted to deny it with her. Wanted to pretend that this was all a dream too, but he couldn't. He wasn't sure how long she could resist not feeding, so they had to take care of business as soon as possible. "Who did this?" Dean demanded, "Someone bleed in your mouth?"

"Daddy," she was trembling.

"Axel!" he barked, "I need you to focus. We can fix this but we have to act fast."

"Some man, I think he said his name was Teddy."

"Did he tell you where he was going?" he paused and shook his head, "You can feel them, right?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah. They told me to-" she shook her head.

"What did they tell you to do?" Dean asked.

"They," she took a breath, "They told me to drink you."

"Of course they did," he sighed, "Okay, we've gotta get you back to the motel," he looked at her, "You should probably hold your breath if you don't wanna accidentally eat me," he said it jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, but it was the truth.

Axel nodded and got up.

"I'm gonna walk down wind of you," he explained, following behind her as she made her way back to the car.

Once inside the car Dean rolled down all of the windows and started to drive. Axel was sitting as far from him as she could, "How come you're not freaked out?" she asked.

"Oh I am," he assured her, "But we can fix this."

"You knew vampires were real?"

Dean was silent, speeding to get back to the motel as quickly as possible.

"Dad!" she barked angrily.

He flinched, "Yes, yes I knew they were real."

"How come I didn't know?" she paused, "Are other things real?"

"Axel," Dean snapped, "We really don't have time to discuss this," he was pulling into the motel, "We need to get Sam, now," he looked back at her, "and I need to make something very clear here."

"What?"

"If you feed, if you drink someone's blood, Sammy and I will NOT be able to fix this. You will be a vampire forever. The cure ONLY works if you haven't fed."

She nodded, "Okay."

"Do you think you can handle that?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "I've never been a vampire before."

"Come on," he said, getting out of the car and motioning for her to follow him in to the room. Sam was sitting on the bed, folding their laundry and watching television.

"You're back?" he looked from Dean to Axel and knew something was very wrong, "What's going on?"

Dean took a deep breath, "There's been an incident."

Sam was standing straight up, "Dean."

"Do you have any dead man's blood? And we need to use something to mask our scent so they don't know we're coming."

Sam's eyes went wide, "Dean, Axel's right there," he muttered, knowing talk of the supernatural was off limits in her presence.

"Too late for that," he slowly shook his head, "She's one of them."

Sam's jaw dropped, "What?"

"No time for questions," though, Dean didn't even know exactly what happened. That wasn't important right now, what was important was getting to the vampire who turned his daughter so he could cure her before it was too late, "We've got to fix this now. Do we have everything we need for the cure?" 

"I think so," he sighed, "Well, except for blood from the vamp that turned her."

"Obviously," Dean scoffed, "We're going to get that now. We just gotta cover our scent first."

"You can do that?" Axel chimed in through gritted teeth, doing her best not to inhale, "Because that would be a big help."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "Not sure how well it works when we're right up on them, but they won't see us coming… Or smell us coming I guess."

Sam looked at his niece, "How are you feeling?"

Axel stood there and looked at him for a few moments, trying to think of a way to describe how she felt, she only came up with one word, "Hungry."

That sent chills through both of the Winchester brothers.

"We should lock her down," Sam stated, "Make sure she doesn't hurt anyone."

"How are we going to find the nest then?" Dean demanded.

"We've tracked vamps before," Sam argued, "Do you really want to put her in more danger?"

"What do you think?" the older brother barked, "Geeze Sam. She can tell us where the nest is, she's our quickest way in, and the longer that we wait to do this the hungrier she'll get and the more a chance there is for her to feed and then we damn sure won't be getting her back."

"Fine, let's go," he headed out to the Impala and grabbed a plastic bag from the trunk and opened it, coating himself with some ashes and then passing it to Dean, "This will cover our scent. It's left over from my last vamp hunt."

Dean coated himself too and looked to Axel, "Do we smell less delicious?"

Axel nodded, "Much better."

"You're gonna have to direct us," Dean stated, getting into the car and starting it up once everyone was inside.

"They're not far," she explained, and then went on to direct him where her senses were telling her to go.

They pulled up to an old vacant house and Dean looked at her, "I want you to stay here," he explained, "Do not get out of this car for any reason."

"Okay," she whispered and lay down in the seat so no one would be able to see her. She was terrified and she was starving.

Sam and Dean got out of the car with their machetes in one hand and their dead man's blood in the other. Axel heard every single word that was said, even though she was several hundred feet away from the house. She could hear her father and uncle's hearts racing. The swing of the blade. The heads falling onto the ground, she heard everything. It wasn't long before Sam and Dean were back in the car and as a matter of fact they were bloodied from the fight and smelling much tastier now. Dean started the car and was about to pull away from the house when Axel jumped from the car and got a safe distance away.

"I can't!" she yelled to them.

Dean got out of the car but didn't approach her, "What?" he yelled back.

"Your blood," she paused, "I can't be near you. I don't want to hurt you," she pleaded.

"Let's just do the cure here," Sam stated, starting to prepare it. It took longer than expected but they thankfully had everything that they needed, including the blood of the vampire that turned her, "Axe," Sam walked up and set the mixture at the halfway point between them and retreated back to the Impala, "Drink every last drop," he stated, "It's gonna make you feel awful, but it'll do the trick."

Hesitantly Axel approached and picked up the drink, she sniffed it and made a face.

"I know it sucks," Dean stated, "But you've gotta drink it."

"How do you know?" Axel barked angrily, "You've never been a vampire."

"That's where you're wrong, kid," Dean almost smiled, "I damn sure was a vampire and I've been in your shoes. Now you better drink if you don't wanna be a bloodsucker the rest of your life."

So she drank every last drop like she was told and just as Sam had warned she threw up. Then her head was pounding and she collapsed onto the ground, curled up in a ball, and in way too much pain to even scream. Death would have been kinder, this was torture. She passed out and when she woke she was in a motel room and it was dark. She could feel her father next to her, breathing steadily, but he wasn't asleep, that much she knew, but she could hear the distant snores of her uncle.

"Daddy," she whispered.

She felt his arm wind around her, "Yeah baby?"

"Tell me the story."

Dean started to ask what story she was talking about, but he knew. He knew exactly which story, it was her favorite story, and if Dean was being honest it was one of his favorite stories to tell her too. "Your Uncle Sam, he's gotta be one of the bravest men that I have ever met. He saved the world," Dean paused dramatically, just like he did every time that he told her this tale, "I mean, he saved the world on more than one occasion, this is just the time that sticks out in my head the best…" And so he continued on, leaving out certain characters, relationships, and events. He told it to her just like he always did the only difference being, and he didn't yet know this, that she knew the truth. She was lining it up with everything she had read in that book by Carver Edlund, and for the most part it matched.

The ending was the most different than the truth.

"Sammy shoved the devil back into the box. He did it like he was a pro, like he'd been doing it since he was a kid. Sammy's a badass I tell you what," Dean said with a smile, "I took him out for pizza when we were done," it was always a different type of food, sometimes ice cream, sometimes a beer, sometimes a steak, but the action was always the same, "He really earned that pizza," Dean smiled softly in the dark.

Axel was glad it was dark because she didn't have to pretend like she didn't know the truth, pretend like her father wasn't lying to her. Regardless of what she knew, the story did still comfort her. She snuggled closer, needing his protection, and she lay there. Listening to every word and drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness. She was almost completely asleep when Dean finished the story.

"What about Lisa?" she wouldn't remember asking this question in the morning, but Dean damn sure would.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

The next thing Axel knew the sun from the window was waking her up in the bed at the motel right next to her father who, by the looks of him, hadn't slept or left her side all night.

"Hey," Dean looked relieved to see she was finally awake, "Rise and shine."

"Is she awake?" Axel heard Sam ask.

"I think so," Dean helped her into a sitting position, "How you feeling?"

Axel blinked a couple of times and took a few moments to assess how she was feeling. Her head was pounding, her stomach was in knots, and her whole body ached, "I'm fine," she grunted out, though that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"You look hella hung over," Dean put his hand on her forehead, "You're a little warm. Do I still smell delicious?"

"You smell like you need a shower," she barked unhappily at her father.

"There's my little girl," he patted her head, "Scared the crap outta me, kid."

"Ah come on Dean," Sam butted in, "Reversing vampirism isn't exactly the most pleasant experience."

"Sorry," she paused, "I didn't know…"

"I know," Dean nodded, "I know you didn't."

"I tried to get him to stop. I told him I didn't want to."

Dean sighed softly, "I'm just glad you're okay."

Axel nodded and lay back down on the bed, "Vampires are real?"

"Yes," he confirmed, though it was very obviously not a dream.

Now was the time that she was going to push, she needed answers, "What about other stuff?"

"Axe, please. Don't-"

"No, Dean," Sam interrupted, "This happening is a sign that it's time to tell her the truth."

Dean wanted to punch his brother in the gut but he also knew he was right, "Other things are real," he admitted reluctantly, "Vampires, ghosts, ghouls, demons, angels, and basically anything you can think of."

Axel swallowed hard. Angels were real. Her father had just admitted it. Castiel… Carver Edlund had written about him, he was an angel.

"Big Foot?" she questioned.

He shook his head, "No, not Big Foot. He's basically the only thing that's not real."

"Allegedly," Sam interjected.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I told you over and over again that Big Foot wasn't real," Dean joked, "It's not my fault you didn't listen."

Axel gave her father one of their patented Winchester bitch faces.

"Because," he sighed softly, "Because I wanted to keep you safe."

"Is that what Uncle Sam hunts?" she asked, thinking back to what Azrael had told her several days ago, "Azzy told me he doesn't hunt bugs and he's always saying he hunts other things."

"Yes," Dean admitted hesitantly, "That's what he hunts," he took a deep breath, "I used to hunt them too, before you came along. Hunting was my passion."

"Did you stop because of me?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

Dean made a face, "What? Why? Don't be sorry. It was my choice."

"Well, if I hadn't come around you wouldn't have had to make that choice."

"Not your fault. Hell, it's not like you asked to be born," Dean shook his head, "I wanted to keep you safe and I didn't want you to become a hunter. I don't regret it. Hell, I don't miss it either. Not at all."

"Oh."

Dean kissed the top of her head, "I wouldn't trade being your dad for anything in this world, I hope that you know that."

"Is this why we can't stay home?" she asked, "Because of monsters? Are they looking for us?"

"Maybe," Dean explained, "I don't know for sure, but I damn sure wasn't going to take any chances."

Axel nodded, "I've got one more question."

"What is it?"

"Was my mom a hunter?"

Dean hesitated and looked to Sam who nodded.

"Yes, your mother was a hunter," Dean admitted.

Her face visibly fell, "Is that why I don't know her? She didn't want a kid, she wanted to keep hunting?"

Dean sighed, "No, not exactly. Kid, hunting is a deadly career. Nobody who hunts makes it to old age. I knew that was a life that I didn't want you to be a part of, your mom didn't want that either. She knew that she could never stop hunting, but that I could."

Axel nodded slowly, "Is she still out there? Still hunting?"

Dean took a breath, "Let's get some breakfast," he stated, "You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry. Not at all," she looked at Dean, "Dad, please."

That struck a chord with Dean. He was so used to being called Daddy… Axel only called him Dad when she was annoyed with him.

"No, Axe. I can't… Not right now."

"Just tell me," she pleaded, "Is she still a hunter?"

"No," Dean admitted, "She's not a hunter anymore, I don't think anyways."

Axel's eyes went wide, "So she's alive."

Sam stood up, "Dean's right, that's enough for now. Besides, it's almost check out time, so we should probably hit the road. We've got a long day ahead of us."

Axel groaned and threw herself back down on the bed.

Dean sighed and exchanged glances with his brother. Sam wanted him to be honest, Sam knew it was time. Dean knew it was too. He knew that he should tell his daughter that she wasn't really his daughter, that she was really his niece. But he couldn't do it, he just couldn't. Not now. Not after what happened last night and now that he was going to be leaving her with someone she was a complete stranger to.

He shook his head and sighed softly, "I'm gonna hop in the shower. You guys should get your stuff together," slowly Dean walked into the bathroom and shut the door. He turned on the water and stripped down. For several minutes he stood under the scalding water, letting it sting his skin.

This wasn't what Imogen had wanted. She wouldn't have wanted her daughter to be a part of this life, and she would have shot Dean for letting the young girl be turned into a vampire. Dean was a failure. He was an absolute failure. He'd vowed to keep Axel safe, and he hadn't done that. Instead of going to sleepovers and giggling with her preteen friends Axel was on the road with Dean and Sam. This was Imogen's childhood all over again, the only exception being Imogen hadn't had any idea on what she was missing out on, hunting was normal for her and she had loved every last second of it. The adventure, the travel, the monsters, everything.

Axel, on the other hand, did know. Axel knew what it was like to be normal. She knew what it was like to go to school and have friends, and that's what she wanted. She basically told him every day that she wanted to go back home, she wanted to go back to school, wanted to see her friends. And more than anything that's what Dean wanted too. He wanted to go back to the way things were. He wanted them to be safe again.

That stupid angel had to come in and ruin everything, turn Dean's world upside down. He wished Castiel had just left him out of this. Left him in the dark. And even though he hadn't, Dean still wanted to pretend that nothing was happening. But he couldn't. That was his sister, and he had to save her.

She would have done the same for him.

Back in the room Axel was still lying face down on the bed. She was drained, not just from becoming a vampire and then turning back into a human in a very short span of time, but also learning all that she had. There were still so many questions floating around in her head.

Why had they lied about Castiel? Where was her mother, and if she wasn't a hunter anymore then why hadn't she come back for Axel? Where the hell where they going and why? And how the hell did this Carver Edlund know so much about her dad and uncle? Did they know about this book too?

"So," Sam drug out the word, breaking the awkward silence as he packed his bag, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, her face still buried in the pillow.

"No you're not," Sam sat next to her on the bed, "C'mon, talk to me. You've gotta be overwhelmed."

Slowly Axel sat up and sighed, "I guess. Though probably not for the reason you think."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged, "I mean, I'm not all that shocked that monsters and stuff exist."

"Really? Because Dean and I did our damndest to shield you from all that."

"Yeah well," she looked at him, "You guys didn't get rid of all those dusty monster books lining the shelves back at the bunker," she explained, "I've read most of them. Didn't know what they were talking about most of the time, but when I couldn't sleep at night or Dad was doing his own thing I would crack one open and learn a thing or two," she took a breath before continuing, "All those crazy markings and stuff on the walls back home… I always knew something was different with us, with our family," she shrugged, "It all kind of makes sense now."

"You never said anything about that," Sam looked at her, "How come?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "I liked reading them, didn't really think it was important to talk to you guys about them."

"Did you think they were all fake?"

"I never really thought too much about it. I just read them and enjoyed them."

`"Oh," Sam said softly, "Well, if you ever have any questions, you know about monsters or whatever, you can ask me, right?"

She nodded, "Thanks. Actually, I do have a question."

He shifted uncomfortably but waited for her to ask. Completely nervous about what her question could be.

"What's it like?" she asked, "Killing those things? I don't think I could ever kill anything."

Sam let out a breath of relief at her saying she couldn't do it, "Well, I grew up doing it. My father, your grandfather, raised me and Dean on hunting. So we never really knew any different. I guess it's just all I knew for a while, so it doesn't bother me. It's like a second nature, an instinct even."

"So my mom, was she raised in it too?"

He hesitated, he needed to tread very carefully in order to not piss his brother off, "Kinda. She always knew about monsters and stuff but she didn't start hunting until she was like fourteen or fifteen."

"Why'd she start hunting?"

"Because she thought it would be fun. She thought it was what she was supposed to do, I guess."

"Was it?" Axel asked, "What she was supposed to do, I mean?"

Sam paused. He wanted to tell Axel no, that no one should do it. That hunting wasn't a life that anyone should aim to have. But he couldn't. Because there were very few things in life that her mother was truly passionate about, but hunting was one, "I don't know," he finally admitted, "I want to say no, because hunting takes everything from you, usually your life too," he sighed softly, "But it's what your mother wanted more than anything. She was damn good at it too. I'd have to say one of the best."

Axel smiled at the thought of her mother, "Think I would've been good at it?" as soon as the words slipped from her mouth she regretted them, and the look that came across Sam's face made her sick to her stomach.

"Axel, no," his voice was authoritative, "Don't even think about it. I promise hunting's not for you… It would break mine and Dean's hearts if you did something that stupid," he felt himself starting to sweat, "I mean, we've worked so hard to keep you away from that. Why would you even think..?" he pushed his hair out of his face, "Axel you can't-"

"I'm sorry!" she interrupted him, "I didn't mean I wanted to be a hunter. I just," she started to stammer, "I just want to know if I'm anything like my mom," she admitted.

Axel sat there on feeling very drained as she watched Sam stand up and start pacing the room like a man from an old movie who was waiting for his wife to give birth from the waiting room. She hadn't meant to say that, and really hated that she had upset him. But more than anything she wanted to know if she was like her mother. If she had it in her.

When Axel pictured her mother she was tall, with beautiful blue eyes and dark brown hair that matched her own. She knew that she must look just like her mother since the only resemblance she shared with Dean was her nose. One time she had joked that Dean wasn't her real father, and the look that came across his face had almost made her cry.

"So," she broke the uncomfortable silence as another thought entered her head, "Were you really married?"

Sam's eyes went wide, "What? How do you-?" but then he remembered Dean telling him about the stories he would tell to her when she was little, "I was under a spell," he muttered, "It wasn't exactly my choice."

She had probably put it together, Sam told himself. She was a smart girl. It was completely reasonable that she would figure out that the stories that Dean had told her over the years were all mostly true.

"Wow," she breathed, "That's crazy."

"Isn't it?" he nodded, "I've got a million stories to tell you now that you know the truth."

"Oh? Like what?"

Sam glanced at the bathroom door and listened closely to make sure that the water from the shower was still running and Dean wouldn't overhear, "Well, once upon a time your dad had this thing called ghost sickness, I think. Anyways, it made him terrified of literally everything. He screamed like a little bitch when a cat got near him. And he ran from a little puppy dog like it was a lion chasing him," he smirked, "It was hilarious."

Axel's jaw dropped, "No way!" she exclaimed, "He never told me that."

"Of course he didn't," he shook his head, "Bet he only told you stuff that made him look cool."

"For the most part," Axel nodded, "Except when you saved the world."

Sam smiled, "We did that together. More than once."

"I want to know everything," she admitted.

"All in good time, kiddo," Sam shoved some clothing into his bag, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

She hesitated, "Except about my mother," she stated.

Sam just sighed, "Axe-"

But she raised a hand to stop him, "I'm sure I'll know eventually," she muttered and got up, looking for a change of clothes. She was definitely going to need a shower before they hit the road, the stench of last night was still all over her.

"So was Lisa a hunter too?" she asked, knowing Sam was the safer choice when treading here.

"Lisa?" Sam raised an eyebrow, looking at his niece, "Who are you talking about?"

"You know, from the story. Lisa," she could use this to her advantage. Sam wouldn't know exactly what parts that Dean had left out.

Sam fidgeted uncomfortably, "You know, you should probably talk to your dad about that."

She took a step towards him, "You said I could ask you if I had any questions, didn't you?"

"Well yes."

"Well," she smiled almost innocently at him, "It's not like I'm asking about my mother," but she paused and met the man's eyes, "Or is that who I'm asking about?"

Sam was glad that right at that moment Dean was coming out of the bathroom. It saved him from uncomfortably answering that question, "You should probably get that shower, Axe. We need to get a move on."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her clothes before heading into the bathroom.

Sam waited until he heard the water running once again, "Dean. Why did you tell her about Lisa?"

Dean frowned, "Tell her about Lisa?" he asked, "I never mentioned her, not once. I thought you had."

"Me? No way."

"Then how does she know?" Dean demanded, "Because I damn sure didn't do it."

"I don't know how she knows," Sam sighed, "But she thinks Lisa's her mother."

Dean laughed, "Well, that's a stretch if I've ever heard one," he took a breath, "Look, two days from now Axel's going to meet her _mother_ ," he put air quotes around the word, "Then this isn't going to be a problem anymore. We just have to hold out for two more days and then we don't have to worry about it. Okay?"

"Dean, I really don't feel good about this."

"And you think I do?" Dean snapped, "I feel like hell. I hate this, I hate all of this. I don't want to lie to her, but dammit Sam, it's the only way that I know how to protect her."

"Protect her?" Sam repeated, "Maybe if she had known ahead of time that monsters were real she wouldn't have been turned into one."

"Really, Sam? You're saying this is my fault?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying… It's just," he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Go ahead, say it. It's my fault all of this is happening."

"Dean, all I'm saying is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure."

"And all I'm saying is telling her the truth isn't going to cure shit," he took a breath to chill himself out a bit, "If I tell her the truth, tell her that I'm not really her father," he kept his voice very low, "If I tell her that and then go and leave her with a complete stranger… How the hell do you think that's going to make her feel? Because my guess would be not good."

Sam pondered that for a moment, "Okay, I see your point."

"Look, when all is said and done and we have Imogen safe and the world isn't on the verge of being ruled by Crowley, then I'll tell her everything. I promise Sam. I know you think I like lying to her-"

"I don't think that, Dean."

"Regardless, I hate lying to her. I really do. I'm just trying to do the right thing and keep her safe, you get that right? All I want to do is keep her safe and give her a normal life."

Sam scoffed.

"What?"

"It's nothing… just she's a Winchester, Dean. She's not gonna have a normal life no matter how hard you try to give her one."

Dean wanted to argue but he couldn't, "You're right about that. But I'm not going to stop fighting. Not until I'm dead," he paused, "Dead for good."

"Yeah," Sam rolled his eyes, "Good luck with staying dead."

"What? It's possible. Our sister's been managing it for almost twelve years now."

"Yeah… Maybe don't follow in her footsteps?"

Dean chuckled, "I'm gonna go pack the car."

Sam nodded, "You do that."


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Dean stood outside that door, he was frozen in place, unable to knock and it had been well over a decade since last he had seen this woman. He took a deep breath. _Come on Dean,_ he thought to himself as he slowly raised his hand to knock. But as it was about to land on the wooden door he froze again, unable to move. Why the hell was he so afraid? She told him to come. Said it would all be okay. So why was he so nervous? If she was going to reject him she would have done it over the phone instead of letting him drive all the way out here. Besides, he literally spent his entire life fighting monsters and now he was afraid to talk to his ex-lover?

Just as he was about to let his knuckles rap against the oak door it opened and there she stood. Her dark hair was tied back in a pony tail and she was wearing overalls, like she had just gotten done gardening, only she wasn't covered in dirt.

"Hi," she breathed, "I, uh, I heard the Impala pull up," she smiled halfheartedly, "Been a long time, but I still remember what she sounds like."

Dean didn't move a muscle except to lower his hand from the knocking position.

"I was gonna wait for you to knock, but the suspense was killing me and I was standing right here anyways."

Still the man didn't speak.

"Hello?" she gently waved a hand in front of his face, "Earth to Dean."

He shook his head, "I'm sorry," he finally managed to get out, "I shouldn't have come here," he turned on his heel and headed back to where he had parked the Impala.

Kristin felt the anger brewing inside of her, years of pain and hurt because of this man that she had managed to push down, that she had forgotten about. And now here it was all over again, coming back up as he was walking away, "You have to be fucking kidding me," she spoke loud enough that he would hear her, but not so loudly that her entire neighborhood would.

Dean turned around to face her, but didn't get closer, "Excuse me?"

"You call me, make a big ass deal about coming here, make me think like there's something major or Earth shattering, then you come to my house and you just turn and leave without a word? It's pathetic, Winchester. What do you want me to beg you? Because I tried that once. I begged you to let me stay, but you kicked me out anyways. So no, I'm not going to beg you. Leave if you want. I couldn't care less."

"I don't want you to beg me to do anything," he responded, his voice low, "I came here to ask you a favor, but," he took a deep breath, "I just can't do it. I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "Obviously you can do it if you made it this far. You didn't drive across a continent just to turn around and go back home. But hey, you don't want to tell me that's your business," she waited a moment, but when he didn't say anything she shook her head, "Fine, have it your way," she turned and started to head back inside when Dean finally spoke up.

"Wait!" he said, hustling over to her, "Kristen, wait," he was standing in the doorway, "I need your help."

The two were standing mere inches apart and somehow Dean's hand had come to rest on her hip, "Do you now?" her voice was charged, "Since when does the great Dean Winchester need anyone's help?" unknowingly she moved in a little closer, craning her neck up to look at him.

He wanted to kiss her. That would have been the perfect chick flick moment. But the kiss could have only led to sex, and he was sure that after he told her what he had to tell her if he did it after they got it on that it would be regret city for her.

"Since now," he took a step back, removing his hand from her hip, "Can I come in?"

She smirked, "You're already mostly inside," she stated, letting him the rest of the way in and shutting the door, "What's up?"

"Can we sit?" he asked, "This is gonna take a while to explain."

So she led him into the living room and took a seat on the couch. He sat next to her and turned to face her, he took a deep breath. "How've you been?" he asked, trying to thaw the ice a tad.

She rolled her eyes but obliged, "I'm okay. I don't know if Sam told you this but I retired from hunting. My mom got sick and needed someone to care for her. I did until she died, and after that I just kind of stayed in retirement."

Dean nodded and looked around, "This is a nice place. Is this where you grew up?"

"No," she shook her head, "My mom moved here right after she got sick. Then she left me the house when she died," she shrugged, "What about you guys? How's Sam? Did Imogen ever work it out with that nutty angel?"

Dean's heart sank. How did she not know about Imogen? She kept in touch with Sam, didn't she? Why the hell hadn't he told her? He shook his head and sighed, "Sam's good. He's still hunting. I actually recently discovered he has something of a second family living in Texas."

Kristen laughed, "Ah Texas. I'm picturing him riding a horse and lassoing dames."

"Well, they do live on a farm, so that's entirely possible," he said with a smirk.

"And your sister?" she asked hesitantly.

Dean looked down at his hands that were resting on his knees, "Uh, she died."

Kristen physically recoiled and for a second she couldn't breathe, "She what?"

"Died. She died," he took a breath, "Almost twelve years ago."

"Oh my god," she scooted closer to him on the couch and took his hand, "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

He shrugged, "I'm surprised Sam didn't tell you."

"No, he never mentioned it. Can I ask what happened?"

Dean sighed, he knew she was bound to ask, but for now she needed to be in the dark about this as well, "It was my fault," he said truthfully, "I wasn't there for her when I should have been and she died in my arms."

Kristen squeezed his hand, "Dean, I'm so sorry."

"It's in the past," he looked at her, "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Of course. I understand."

"Kris," he met her eyes, "I have a huge favor I need to ask of you. And I know it's a lot to ask, and you have every right to tell me to screw off," he smiled sadly at her, "But I need you to say yes. I wouldn't be here asking you if I had anyone else that I could trust with this."

"What is it?" she asked, starting to get worried.

"I need you to take care of my daughter for a while. I've got some stuff that I've gotta deal with and I need to know that she's safe. You're the only one I can trust to do just that."

Her eyes went wide, "Your daughter?" it felt like she was speaking a foreign language.

"Yes, I need you to pretend to be her mother. And I swear I wouldn't ask if-"

She raised a hand to cut him off, "I'll do it."

"You will? Just like that?" his head was spinning. He had thought it was going to take a hell of a lot more convincing than that, "No questions asked?"

"Like you said, you wouldn't ask me if you weren't desperate," and though her heart was breaking she went on, "How old is she? What's her name? And where is her mother?"

"She's almost twelve, her name is Axel, and," he shook his head, "Her real mother gave her to me when she was born and I haven't seen her since."

"Twelve? So you got the baby right as you lost your sister?"

"Well, technically I got the baby just a little bit before I lost my sister, but yes."

She frowned but nodded, "Did your sister ever tell you anything about me? Or your brother for that matter?"

Dean looked at her, "Like what?"

"Nothing. It's just… nothing."

"Tell me," he urged, looking at her, "You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't want me to know."

"I was pregnant," she finally admitted, "When you kicked me out, when we broke up."

Dean's face fell, "You were what?"

"Pregnant. With your baby. I didn't know then, because I guess it had just happened, but yeah. I was pregnant."

"How come you didn't tell me?" Dean demanded, "Wait, Sam knew? My sister knew? What the hell? I had a right to know. A right to know I had a kid."

"You have a kid!" she barked back at him, "A daughter, remember?"

Dean shook his head, "I can't believe you."

"You didn't tell me that you had a kid! Hell, you told me nothing until you just strolled up and asked me to take her in, which I agreed to do when I know nothing about her and nothing about you."

"That's different! You had my kid! My baby! I had a right to know."

She shook her head, "I didn't have the baby."

"You didn't?" he asked, very confused.

"No, I had a miscarriage. The only reason Imogen knew was because she showed up at the clinic I was at to get her birth control and she saw me there after I found out I had lost the baby," she took a deep breath, "I was going to tell you, Dean. I swear I was. That's why I was back in town, but after I miscarried… I didn't want to hurt you."

Dean was silent.

"I begged Imogen not to tell you, but I guess that she told Sam. I really don't know how all of that worked out."

"Why did you miscarry?" he asked almost accusatorily.

"I don't know. The doctor said sometimes it just happens. It was pretty uncommon because I was in my second trimester, but it happened. I didn't want to hurt you, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I really am. But-"

He held up a hand to stop her, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you."

She shook her head, "There's enough blame to go around."

Dean scooted a little closer to her, "I never stopped loving you, Kris."

Her chest felt tight and her heart was racing, "You never told me you loved me before."

"I did and I do," and then he was kissing her and then they were horizontal on the couch, and the thing that he had wanted to avoid earlier became inevitable and next thing they were naked squished together on the couch and Dean was gently running his fingers through her hair. "We need to talk about Axel," Dean said softly when they had both calmed down and managed to catch their breath, "We need to get our stories as straight as possible."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Axel knows very, very little about her real mother, she doesn't even know her name. All she knows is that her mother was a hunter and that's why they never met. So we need to come up with a good story for why you haven't been in her life."

Kristen gently rubbed Dean's cheek and kissed his lips. She wanted less talking and more of the thing they had just gotten finished doing. It had been over much too quickly, but alas Dean looked quite serious. "Amnesia?" she suggested, almost as a joke.

Dean's face lit up, "That's perfect," he sat up and started getting dressed, "You didn't know who you were, so you couldn't have known who she was," once he got his pants on he pulled her up and kissed her, "This is why you're the smart one."

She half smiled and picked up her shirt to pull it over her head, "Do you want to tell her that you haven't been able to find me all these years? And now that I've got my memory back I found you?"

"Yes," Dean nodded, "That's perfect," he sighed softly, "I haven't told her yet that I'm going to be leaving her," he paused, "I have never been away from her. Not one single day since the day she was born."

Kristen smiled sadly, "How long will you be away?"

"I don't know yet. Could be a few weeks, maybe a few months but it'll be a while, I know that. So we need to get her as settled here as we can. Get her in school, the whole shebang."

Kristen nodded, "Okay, whatever you want, Dean. I'm here for you."

Dean kissed her lips again before he pulled his own shirt on, "I've gotta go. I'll bring her by tomorrow. I just want to have one last day with her before I tell her I'm leaving and she hates me."

Kristen nodded, "I'll be home all day," she looked at him, "Are you going to be leaving tomorrow too?"

He shook his head, "No, I wanna stay a day or two and make sure she's settled before I take off."

"Good choice," she kissed him gently, "I'll get started fixing up the guest room. After all is said and done I'll take her shopping and let her pick out decorations and stuff."

Dean smiled sadly, her room back home was still decorated like a baby's nursery. Sam and Dean had put it together for Imogen before she'd had the baby. Instead of a crib there was a twin sized bed in it, but Axel never used the room. It was mainly for storage now. She always slept in bed with Dean, that was something he was definitely going to miss.

"I'm sure she'll love that," he said with a nod as he turned to head out the door, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Dean." And just like that he was gone. Part of her wondered if he was even coming back. She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. He was Dean, he would come and go as he pleased.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

It was still pretty early in the afternoon when Dean got back to the motel. He stepped inside and immediately his heart hurt, seeing Axel sitting on the bed playing cards with Sam. She didn't know this was all about to change. She didn't know and he wasn't going to tell her, not right now anyways. He wanted one last good day, one last good memory before everything was different.

"Hey," he smiled at the two.

Sam was immediately on his feet, "Hey, how'd it go?"

"It was good," he said with a nod so Sam would know the plan was on, "Hey Axe, why don't me and you go out for a bit?"

She looked suspiciously at him, "Why?"

He scoffed, "Why? Because we haven't got to spend a lot of time together."

"What are you talking about? We've spent the last three weeks together nonstop."

"Well yeah," he agreed, "But Sammy's been there too and we both know what a drag he is."

Sam made a very unhappy face, but Axel chuckled and she nodded, "Okay, I'll get dressed," she picked up her backpack and headed into the bathroom.

Sam grabbed Dean and pulled him outside, "How'd it go with Kristen? Is Axel staying with her? What's going on?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Sam narrowed his eyes at his brother, "Tell you what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you tell me that Kristen was having my baby?"

His face fell and he heaved a heavy sigh, "Because when Imogen told me about it Kristen had already miscarried. I talked to her, she begged me not to say anything, and we were dealing with Imogen being pregnant with Axel. Then Imogen died and it really didn't seem like the best time to tell you that you had a dead sister and a dead baby too."

Dean shook his head, "You should have told me. I had the right to know."

"What would it have changed, Dean? You really think the two of you would have lived happily ever after? No, even if you had gotten back together then she and Imogen would have just fought and Imogen would have left and then she would have died alone. And who the hell knows what would have happened to Axel?" he kept his voice low, but it was strained, "Are you really that pissed that I didn't tell you?"

"Yes," he snarled, "Because you are MY brother. I would have told you. There's nothing that would have stopped me from telling you that."

Sam frowned, "No, you don't get it. No good would have come out of telling you. Tell me you don't agree?"

"It doesn't matter if you're right or not. The point is that you should have told me."

"Maybe I should have, but I didn't. You know now so what's the big deal?" he let out a breath and met his brother's eye, "Is Kris going to take Axel or what?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "She is."

"Are you going to tell Axel?"

"Of course I am, Sam. But not today. I'll tell her tomorrow. I just want one last good day with her," he took a deep breath, "Who knows when or if we'll get another one?"

Sam nodded, "Good luck," he said as he turned and walked back into the room.

Just as Dean got back in Axel was walking out of the bathroom, "You ready to go?"

Dean smiled and nodded, putting his hand on her back as he walked out with her, "Anything you want to go and do?"

Axel shrugged, "I don't know anything about Alaska, Dad."

There was that word again _Dad,_ he wasn't sure that he could get used to her calling him that when he'd been Daddy almost exclusively for the last almost twelve years.

"Me either," he agreed, "Oh, I have an idea."

"What?" she asked, heading to the Impala and starting to open the passenger side door.

Dean rushed over and shook his head, "I'm gonna teach you how to drive."

Her eyes went wide, "I'm not old enough."

"Duh," he agreed, "But I learned how to drive when I was like eight so it's your turn. Come on now," he pushed her gently to the driver's side and then he got in on the passenger's side and waited for her to get in.

She slowly got in the car and she couldn't quite reach the pedals with the seat adjustment, so Dean pulled it forward and they were good to go.

"What's your first step?" he asked.

"Uh," she scratched her head, "Put it in reverse?"

Dean shook his head and pulled the keys out of his pocket, "Gotta turn it on first."

Axel took the keys from him and started the car, "What now?" she asked nervously.

"Well, first off you need to chill out," he smiled warmly, "Don't worry, nothing bad's gonna happen."

"I know," she breathed, "I just I don't want to hurt your car."

Dean scoffed, "Don't worry about the car. I've rebuilt it more than once, I love doing it."

Axel nodded, "Okay."

"All right. Push in the break, the pedal on the left."

Axel did as he said.

"Now grab the gear shift and drop it down into reverse. Come on sweetie, you can do it."

And she did.

"Now, slowly take your foot off the break and cut the wheel to the left. There's no cars, no people. You'll be fine," he assured her.

She did it flawlessly… Extremely slowly, but flawlessly.

"Perfect," he smiled at her, "Okay, straighten out your wheel and go straight. You can give it a little gas if you want."

Slowly she let the car coast, her hands gripping the wheel tightly, her eyes not leaving the paved parking lot.

"You're doing great, Axe. Perfect."

So they spent quite some time going in circles in the parking lot until they had both had enough and they switched places, "I've got an idea," Dean smirked at her, "Let's go get some food and candy and sneak it into the movie theater. Sound good? I'll even let you pick the movie."

Axel smiled brightly, "Can we get peanut butter M&M's?"

"Absolutely," he smiled at her.

The two had an amazing day. They saw some lame movie, ate until they were both nauseous, and then Axel fell asleep in the car on the way back from the motel. Dean carried her inside and put her down on the bed, laying down next to her. This could very well be the last time they slept in the same bed together.

"How was your date?" Sam asked softly, not wanting to wake up his niece.

"It was great," Dean smiled, "I taught her how to drive."

"Yeah, I saw you guys doing laps around the parking lot. Can't believe she's old enough to learn how to drive."

Dean chuckled, "You and me both, Sammy. Seems like just yesterday I was teaching her how to shit in the toilet and now I'm teaching her to drive my car. I taught you how to drive in that car," he paused, "And for the record, I also taught you how to shit in a toilet."

Sam nodded, "I remember… The driving, not the shitting."

"Taught Imogen too."

"I was there," Sam agreed, "Well, for the driving. She was toilet trained before we got her."

"I can't believe it," he took a breath, "I know that we have to do what we have to do. I know that I am doing what's best for her, but I can't help but hate myself for it. I don't want to be away from her. She's everything. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me, Sammy."

Sam nodded, "I know she is, Dean. You know Dean, you don't have to do this. I can get Cas and I can deal with Imogen and take care of all this myself. You can stay here with them, be a family."

"No I can't," he shook his head, "You know that as well as I do. Besides, even with Cas you're still going to need me. Team Free Will, brother. You, me, and that damn angel. We've all gotta do this, it's the only way it's going to get done and get done right."

Sam sighed, "You're not wrong about that."

"We're better together."

"We're better together."

Dean gently ran his hand though Axel's tangled, brown hair, "I really hate that she looks like him."

"I know you do, Dean."

"I'm scared, Sammy. I'm really scared that when she finds out the truth that she's going to hate me."

"She's not going to hate you Dean, but I think you're right. I think you need to wait until this all blows over before you tell her everything. But you do need to tell her everything."

"When the time is right, I will," Dean agreed, "Good night, Sam."

"Night Dean."

Dean switched off the bedside table and rolled onto his stomach, hugging the pillow and closing his eyes. Listening closely to his sleeping daughter's breathing. Everything was going to be different tomorrow.

* * *

" _Come to me,"_ the voice whispered and a shadowy figure was starting to come into view. In the countless times that Axel had this same dream it was always just blackness with the booming voice in her ears. Never a figure to go along with the voice, never even the outline of a figure. Not until today anyways, " _You can find me. You're a part of me. Come to me,"_ over and over again inside of Axel's head. Getting louder and louder until it was an ear-splitting screech.

"Axel!" Dean was shaking his screaming and flailing daughter, "Axel wake up!"

She sat bolt right up, sweat soaking her clothes, and her long dark hair damp and sticking to her face.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, though he knew it was a nightmare, he was holding onto her shoulders and making her face him. There's something very distressing when you wake up to your child screaming as if they're being murdered.

Axel had a hand on her chest, breathing quickly.

"Axe, baby, talk to me."

She pushed her sweaty hair out of her face, "Nothing," she said, slowly sliding off the bed, "I need to take a shower."

Dean gently grabbed her arm, "Axel, talk to me. What's going on?"

"It's nothing," she shook her head, "Just a bad dream."

"Obviously," He said with a nod, "What was the dream?"

"Dad, I really don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad," he looked at her, "You wake up screaming you owe me some kind of explanation."

Axel rolled her eyes, "It was me as a vampire," she lied skillfully, "I uh," she scratched her head, "I hurt Uncle Sam."

Dean sighed and nodded, "Go take your shower. We have something we need to talk about."

She raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Just go shower," he yawned, "I love you."

"Fine," she shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her bag, and headed into the bathroom.

Sam, who hadn't made any indication that he was awake, waited until Axel was in the bathroom and the door was shut before he sat up, "Don't think I can ever get used to waking up to her screaming," he said softly, "Reminds me too much of that night with Imogen and her son," he looked at his brother, "Are you okay?"

Dean nodded, "Just a little nervous."

"To tell her?"

"Yep."

Sam nodded, "Can't say I blame you there. I'm going to go out and get us all breakfast while you do that."

Dean frowned, "What? No, you have to help me. I'm gonna need you as back up."

"Hell no. Like I said, you're the dad, you get to do all the hard stuff. I'm the uncle, I get to do the fun stuff."

"If I die then it's up to you, right?"

Sam glared at him, "Not funny, Dean."

Dean shrugged, "Was only sort of a joke."

Sam got up and slipped on his boots, "I'll be back in an hour… Maybe two… Actually, just shoot me a text when the danger is over."

"I can't believe you're leaving this all up to me."

"Better believe it, brother," he grabbed Dean's keys off the bedside table.

"Would you mind getting her a cell phone set up while you're out? She needs one, and I'll bet she'll appreciate a little gift."

"You got it," he said, hurrying out of the room when he heard the water in the bathroom shut off.

Dean groaned and lay back on the bed, his hands over his face. He was not looking forward to this.

A few minutes later Axel was coming out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and jeans and her long hair wrapped up in towel, "Where's Uncle Sam?" she asked, sitting on the opposite bed.

Dean sat back up, "He went to get breakfast."

"So what's up?" she asked, "What did we need to talk about?"

Dean took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy, and Dean could only hope that she would be too excited at the prospect of meeting her 'mother' that she wouldn't be able to see through his lie.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

"You've been asking me about your mother a lot more lately," Dean began slowly.

Axel's eyes widened, "Yeah."

"Well, I think that it's time you knew."

"It is?" she asked hopefully.

Dean nodded and looked down at his hands that were folded in his lap, "I haven't told you this because I didn't know where she was. When you were a baby she disappeared and Sammy and I looked everywhere for her, but we couldn't find her."

Axel couldn't do anything except sit there and listen.

"What I've thought for the almost twelve years had happened was your mother decided she didn't want to be a mother, so she went back on the road hunting and stuff. I figured she left you with me because she knew I would never let anything happen to you."

"Is that what happened?" she asked, "My mom didn't want me?" she felt her composure cracking, "Did you even want me, Dad?"

Dean sighed, "Axel, of course I wanted you then and I want you now. I've told you over and over again that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he hated this, he hated that he was lying to the one person who loved more than anything, "She wanted you too, but she got into an accident, I don't really know the whole story to be honest," he most certainly wasn't being honest, "But she lost all of her memories. She didn't even know who she was."

"What?" Axel breathed, on the edge of her seat.

Dean continued on, "It wasn't until recently that she remembered who she was. She got in touch with me and that's why we're here in Alaska. We came to see her. That's where I was yesterday, checking in with her, seeing how she was, making sure she was okay."

"You've seen my mother?"

"Yes," he answered, "I went and talked to her yesterday."

"Does she want to see me? Did she ask about me?" the young girl asked excitedly.

Dean inhaled, "Yeah, of course. Axe, she never would have left you if she had a choice. She loves you. In fact, she asked me when she could meet you."

"She did?" the smile on Axel's face didn't fade, "My mom?"

"Yes ma'am. I told her we would go today, if that's what you want."

"Yes!" she jumped up and clapped her hands, "I should change. If I'm gonna meet my mom I should wear something nicer."

Dean chuckled, "You're dressed fine. She's not gonna care what you're wearing."

Axel thought that she was going to explode with joy, "I can't believe this," she squealed, "I'm gonna get to meet my mother," she was bouncing, "What do I call her? Do I call her mom?"

He shrugged, "You can call her what you want. Her name's Kristen, you can call her that."

"Okay! I can't wait until Uncle Sam gets back! I wanna go now."

Dean half smiled, feeling like shit but not wanting to rain on her parade and expose his own lie.

"So she wants to see me? What did you tell her about me?"

"Not much," Dean admitted, "I thought I would let you tell her what you want her to know."

"What does she look like?" Axel asked, "Do I look like her at all?"

Dean nodded, grateful that Kristen did look a little like Axel, "She got dark brown hair, brown eyes, and she's very, very pretty."

Axel squealed, "Can we go now?"

"It's too far to walk, kiddo."

"Is Uncle Sam gonna go with us?"

"If he wants to, absolutely."

"Has he met my mom?"

"Yeah," Dean said with a nod, "He has. We all travelled together for a while, they were friends."

"What about your sister?" the girl asked innocently, "What was her name? Emma? 

"Imogen," he corrected, "And yeah, they met a couple of times."

"Were they friends too?"

Dean frowned, "Not really. My sister wasn't the most loving and open person, not after her son died anyways. She kind of closed herself off."

Before Axel had time to ask any more questions Sam was coming through the door, "Okay, who wants breakfast burritos?"

"I'm too excited to eat!" she was tying her shoes, "Can we go now?"

Sam looked impressed, "Wow, you're happy."

Dean looked at his brother, "Yeah, I told her she was gonna get to meet Kristen today."

"What else did you tell her?" Sam said, Axel was too energized to catch on.

"Nothing. Do you want to go with us?"

Sam shook his head, "I think it should just be the three of you."

Axel frowned, "You don't wanna go?"

"Nah, kiddo. I'll go later. I think you guys need some time as a family," he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight, "You know I love you, right?"

Axel smiled and stood on her tiptoes so that she could kiss his cheek, "I love you too."

"Oh," he reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone he had just bought for her, "Your dad had me pick this up for you. I've got our numbers programmed in there, so you need anything feel free to text or call me."

Axel smiled and slipped it in her back pocket, "Thanks," she turned to Dean who was scarfing down a burrito, "Can we go now?"

Dean popped the last of it into his mouth and nodded, "You driving?" he asked, bits of egg falling out of his mouth.

She rolled her eyes and followed him out of the room.

Twenty minutes later Dean was pulling up in front of Kristen's place. It was a cozy little home in a nice neighborhood, sort of like the ones that you see in those heartwarming family movies where there's a dad and a mom and kids and a dog in the yard.

"Here we are," Dean proclaimed as he parked the Impala in front of the house and shut it off, "You ready for this, Axe?"

Axel nodded but Dean could see she was shaking, "Do you think she's gonna like me?"

Dean half-smiled, "She'll love you, baby," he leaned over and kissed her head, "Come on now, let's not keep her waiting anymore."

Axel nodded and slipped out of the car. Her heart was racing a mile a minute.

Dean was standing right next to her, "Let's go," he said, laying a hand on her back and gently urging her towards the door. Once at the door Dean knocked and the two waited. Axel couldn't speak. She could barely breathe. This was what she had been waiting for, for as long as she could remember. And now that it was here she wasn't completely sure it was what she wanted anymore.

Kristen opened the front door and smiled warmly at the both of them, "Come in," she requested. Axel didn't move so Dean gave her a little push and she stuck close by him as he directed her to the couch and sat down with her. Kristen sat across from the two.

"Axel, this is Kristen. Kristen, this is Axel."

Kristen held out her hand and Axel slowly reached out to grab it and shake it.

"It's nice to meet you," Axel's small voice squeaked out.

"Likewise," Kristen replied awkwardly.

"I explained to Axel about the amnesia and all of that stuff, so there's no hard feelings… I don't think anyways."

Axel shook her head, "No, no hard feelings."

Dean smiled half-heartily, "Axel's a little nervous, Kris. She's wanted to meet you since forever."

"Dad," Axel elbowed him.

"It's okay," Kristen smiled, "I'm nervous too. I mean, you were a tiny baby the last time I saw you," she was lying, she'd never seen Axel before in her life, but Axel didn't know that.

Dean smiled, "So, Axel. Is there anything you want to know about your mom?"

Axel bit her lip, "Tons of stuff."

Kristen shifted uncomfortably, "Well, you can ask me whatever."

"Is there anything you want to know about me?" Axel asked, "I mean, I'm your daughter."

Kristen nodded and looked at Dean, "Uh, do you have a boyfriend?" she immediately wanted to slap herself. That was just the first thing that had come to mind.

"Uh," Axel fidgeted, "I-uh."

"Yeah Axe," Dean teased, "Got a boyfriend?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kristen pinched her nose, "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"No, it's okay," Axel breathed, "No, I don't. Most of the guys I know are still making their armpits fart."

Dean smirked, "Boy, am I glad to hear that," he stood up, "Why don't I let you girls get to know each other and I'll just… I don't know."

"No!" Axel barked nervously, "I mean, you should stay."

Dean sighed softly, "Axe, she's not gonna bite you."

"No, I know," she nodded and looked down at her lap.

Kristen fidgeted, "So, Axel, have you ever seen a ferret?"

Axel looked up at her, "No."

"Well, I've got one here that I'm watching for my neighbor while she's on vacation. Wanna come see it?"

"Absolutely," she smiled brightly and stood up, but then looked at Dean, "Can I?"

Dean nodded, "Go, have a blast. I'm gonna go check on your Uncle Sam. Maybe we'll bring back steaks and have a cook out."

Axel nodded nervously.

Dean looked at Kristen, "Can you give us a second?"

Kristen nodded and walked out of the room.

"Axel, Kristen's not gonna hurt you. I wouldn't let her near you if I had any doubt that you would be safe," he patted her shoulder, "I know it's a little weird, but you need to get to know her. She's a great lady."

Axel nodded, "Okay, Dad. Just keep your cellphone on you, okay?"

"Okay," Dean smiled and nodded, "Let me know if you need anything while I'm out," then he turned and headed for the door, but hesitated, "Don't forget, you wanted to meet your mom. You wanted to know about her, well, now's your chance kiddo."

Axel nodded and turned to follow after where Kristen had gone, "Hello?" she called out when she couldn't find the woman.

"In here," Kristen called back.

She followed the sound of the woman's voice and found her in a bedroom pulling a long, rat like thing out of a cage, "Axel, I want you to meet Fabian."

"His name is Fabian?" she asked, looking at the pure white animal with red eyes.

Kristen held it out for her and Axel took it, "Yes, his name is Fabian. Don't judge me, he doesn't belong to me, I didn't name him. And no, he's not possessed though I'm sure your father would argue that if he saw the eyes."

A small laugh escaped the young girl, "Does he bite?"

"Who, your father? Only when provoked, in my experience anyways."

Axel rolled her eyes, "God, you two have the same sense of humor."

"No, Fabian is very sweet. He's never bitten anyone before."

Axel nodded and gently stroked the animal who seemed very happy in her arms.

"There's another ferret, her name is Marie, but she's sneaky little one. Always getting out of her cage. She's running around the house somewhere, I'm sure she will turn up sooner or later."

Axel nodded and handed the ferret back to Kristen, "Should I call you Mom?" she finally asked.

Kristen put the ferret back in the cage and shrugged, "You don't have to."

"Okay," she nodded, "So it won't hurt your feelings if I don't call you that?"

"No, sweetie. I get it, you don't know me, I don't know you. Let's get to know each other," she sat down on her bed and patted the spot across from her.

Axel took a seat and smiled, "How did you and my dad meet?"

Kristen smiled, "On a hunt. He was pissed because I wouldn't back off and let him take care of things. Bought me a beer later because I totally saved his ass."

"Was it love at first sight?"

"Oh god no," she chuckled, "I mean, it was lust at first sight if you catch my drift because we went back to the motel room together and-" she stopped herself when she saw the horrified look on the young girl's face, "Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to," she shook her head, "No, it wasn't love at first sight. That's crap only happens in fairy tales, I think," she said with a nod, "No, me and Dean kept in touch, ran into each other on hunts, it gradually grew into what it was."

"Oh wow," she said softly.

"So, tell me about you," she smiled, "What kind of stuff do you like?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I like reading and school. I'm lame."

Kristen chuckled, "You're not lame. I wish I had liked school. I hated it. I got out of there the second I could sign the drop out papers."

"Why'd you drop out?"

"I wanted to be on the road, I wanted to be a hunter, and I sucked at school. Hated everyone there."

Axel nodded, "So I guess I'm weird. Dad was the same way, I'm completely different."

"Ah, I bet that was because your Uncle Sam. I bet he drilled that in your head. He loves education."

"Yeah, I guess he did have something to do with that," she smiled happily.

"Sam's the best," Kristen added, "He was always a great friend."

"What about their sister?" she asked, "I think Dad said her name was Imogen… Were y'all friends?"

"Oh hell no," Kristen laughed, "We hated each other. I actually didn't know who she was until I met her, she had taken off out of your dad and Sam's life, and then she randomly showed up. I was at the bunker and so was she but Sam and Dean were off on a hunt. Long story short, I walked into the room and she was naked and she tried to shoot me," she chuckled a little at the memory, "In all fairness, I tried to shoot her too. Then after that I thought your dad was cheating on me with her before it all got explained."

Axel looked at her, "Woah. That's crazy," she said with a nod, "Did y'all eventually get along?"

"Nope," she shook her head, "Never. We were both kind of jealous of the other one."

She nodded slowly before building up the courage to ask the question that had been on her mind since she was little, "Did you love my dad?"


	20. Chapter Nineteen

Dean picked up a pack of steaks from the meat bin at the supermarket and glanced over to Sam who was checking his cell phone, "You got a date or something?" Dean asked, putting the meat into the basket.

"No, it's Axel. She texted me."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, she just really wants me to come over there with you. I told her I would see her soon," Sam sighed softly, "So what's the plan, Dean? Are we leaving tonight or what?"

"Not tonight. Tomorrow. I wanna have a little birthday party for her," he shrugged, "Who knows when we'll get to see her again."

"Tomorrow is her birthday," Sam stated.

"I know when her birthday is, Sammy."

"Okay," Sam sighed, "I just don't like feeling like we're lying to her, hiding this from her when it's all going to come crashing down eventually."

"You think I like it?" Dean asked, "I've been in a panic since Castiel told me all this crap. And now that I know I'm leaving …" he shook his head, "Let's say that it hasn't exactly been a walk in the park."

"I know," Sam nodded slowly, "I know this isn't easy for you."

"I just want her to have one more awesome birthday, one last good memory she can look back on before I rip her heart out."

Sam nodded slowly, "Okay, fine," he looked at Dean, "So tell me, how was your reunion with Kristen?"

Dean rolled his eyes.

"You two did it, didn't you?"

"What, are you sixteen? A gentleman never kisses and tells."

"Good thing I didn't ask a gentleman," Sam caught his brother's eye, "So?"

"Yeah, we did it," Dean confirmed, heading down an aisle.

"Can't say I'm surprised," Sam smirked, "You two were always hot and heavy. Sharing a motel room with y'all was torture."

"Hey," Dean looked at his brother and rolled his eyes playfully, "You know, when I asked you about your relationship with that lady and guy you told me to shut up."

"Ever think that maybe had something to do with the fact that my eleven year old niece was in the car with us?"

Dean shook his head, "Nope. If we can't talk about you sexual exploits than we damn sure aren't gonna talk about mine."

Sam groaned, "What is it you want to know, Dean?"

"Were you pitching or catching?"

"Oh my god," he shook his head, "No, we're not getting into the nitty gritty graphic details."

"Fine," Dean nodded slowly, "How come you didn't tell me you were gay?"

Sam picked up a bag of peanut butter M&M's off of the shelf and tossed them into the basket, "Because I'm not gay."

"You were with a dude."

"Yeah, and a girl. Dean, it's not that cut and dry."

Dean took a breath and picked up a bag of potatoes, they were wandering the aisles avoiding looking at each other. Dean knew this was a conversation that Sam didn't want to be having, yet he pressed on because it really did bother him that his brother hadn't told him about any of this.

"Why didn't you tell me, Sammy? I mean, did you think I was gonna judge you for being with a guy or what? Because I'm the last person in the world who would-"

Sam held up a hand to cut him off, "No, I didn't think you would judge me," he stated, "Look, they were just mine. It felt safe for once having something that was just mine. And I didn't tell you, not because I thought you would judge me for being with a guy, but because I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want you thinking I traded you and Axel for them or whatever," the tall man took a deep breath, "Then it was over and I spent a lot of time drinking and feeling sorry for myself. Then they were dead so it didn't really seem to matter."

Dean nodded slowly, "I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't tell me, Sammy.

"Dean-"

"No," he shook his head, "I'm sorry I was so wrapped up in my own shit that I wasn't there for you."

"You were busy, you had a kid. It's not like I didn't understand."

"I'm sorry you lost them, Sammy."

"I lost them long before they ever died," he sighed softly, "Let's get out of here, Axel's dying for us to come back."

"Think things going that bad with Kristen?"

"I don't know that it's even that," Sam explained, "We left her with a stranger."

"She's never been shy around strangers before."

"Well, this time is different. This time it's a stranger she's been waiting her whole life to meet."

Dean nodded, "I see your point. Okay, I'm ready, let's get out of here."

Forty-five minutes later the brothers were pulling up in front of Kristen's house. "Nice place," Sam commented as he got out of the car and grabbed some of the bags out of the backseat.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "I mean, it's nothing compared to the bunker, but it's every suburban housewife's dream."

Sam just rolled his eyes and followed his brother to the front door. Dean knocked and they waited a couple of minutes before Kristen finally answered.

"Sammy!" she said happily, "Dean and Axel said you weren't coming."

"Hey Kris," he pulled her into a hug, the grocery bags gently slapping against her back, "I was going to hang out at the motel while you guys got acquainted, but we thought we would give Axel a nice little birthday dinner before we had to head out."

"But my birthday's not until tomorrow," Axel said, coming into the entryway.

"Yeah, but we all wanted to celebrate together," Dean said, pushing inside of the house, "Hey, Kris, do you have a grill?"

"Yeah, it's out back," she took the bags from Sam, "Follow me," Dean followed Kristen into the backyard and Sam and Axel were left in the house.

"So," Sam smiled weakly at his niece, "What do you think about your … mother?"

Axel shrugged, "She seems okay."

"Was she what you expected?" he questioned, heading into the living room and taking a seat.

"I didn't know what to expect," she sat next to him, "Uncle Sam, what's going on? Why are we here?"

Sam just looked at her, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"Is Dad telling the truth?" she asked, "Did my mom, Kristen, really lose her memory and didn't know she had a daughter?"

Sam took a deep breath. He didn't want to lie to her. He hated every last second of this. "Your dad loves you, kiddo," he finally stated, "He wouldn't lie to you unless there was a really good reason."

"So he's not lying to me?"

"Does this seem like a good thing to lie about?"

Axel shook her head, "No, I guess not," she sighed and leaned her head against him, "I can't wait until we're back at the bunker. I miss that place."

"You and me both, kiddo," he kissed her head.

"Are you gonna keep hunting?" she asked, "Like when we're all back home, are you going to keep leaving to go on hunting trips?"

He shrugged, "Probably."

"Maybe I could go sometime."

A horrified look crossed Sam's face and Axel thought that he was going to have a stroke.

"No, no, no," she exclaimed, "I don't mean go on the actual hunt. I just mean," she shook her head, "If you went back down to Texas to see Olivia and Azzy again, maybe I could tag along. I really liked them."

Sam nodded and smiled, "I'm sure we could arrange that when you get some time off from school or something."

"I love you, Uncle Sam."

Sam smiled, "Love you too, kiddo," he looked at her, "Oh hey, I got you something, kind of an early birthday present."

"What is it?" she asked excitedly.

Sam stood up, "Follow me and find out," he headed for the door but stopped and turned dramatically, "If you dare."

Axel rolled her eyes and followed her uncle out to the Impala where he dug around in the trunk before pulling out a little black box and handing it over to her. She opened it up and gasped, "It's beautiful."

Sam smiled and nodded, picking up the bracelet from the box and securing it to her wrist, "It's nice, isn't it?" he gently flicked one of the charms, "Also, it can keep you safe from things like demonic possession or whatever. Just as long as you're wearing it."

Axel looked at the pentagram charm and smiled, "Is that why you and Dad have matching tattoos on your chest?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, we got those after one too many times being possessed ourselves."

"Oh?" she looked at him.

"I'll tell you when you're older," he explained with a smirk, "Do you like it?"

"I love it," she stated, "I don't think I'll ever take it off."

"Good," he nodded, "It can't protect you if you're not wearing it."

"Wouldn't it make more sense for me to get the tattoo?" she gestured towards his chest.

"Probably," Sam nodded, "But any creep whose okay with tattooing a twelve-year-old is not someone I want around you, understand?"

Axel smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I understand."

"Now let's go back inside before Dean comes looking for us."

Axel nodded and the two went back inside together. Dinner went well, there was tons of chit chat and laughing, and after dinner they all played a couple rounds of poker. Sam and Axel lost every round and Dean and Kristen were tied. It was getting late and Sam was yawning.

"We should be getting back to the motel," Dean looked from his daughter who had passed out on the couch to Sam who was barely staying awake.

"You guys can stay here," Kristen urged, "I've got a guest room and the sofa pulls out into a bed.

Sam yawned, "Well, y'all can do whatever. I'm going back to the motel," he gently nudged Axel, "Wanna come?" he asked.

She gently smack his hand, "Go away," she mumbled.

"I think she's staying put," Dean chuckled, "I better stay here and keep an eye on this kid. Don't think she would like it too much if she woke up and I wasn't here."

Sam nodded, "Want me to carry her to the guest room?"

Kristen nodded, "I'll show you the way."

Sam easily lifted Axel and carried her to the back of the house and laid her on the bed, then he and Kristen joined Dean back in the living room.

"It was good to see you again, Sam."

Sam nodded and hugged her once more, "Right back at you."

Dean dug his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Sam, "Take good care of my baby."

Sam rolled his eyes, "I always do."

"See you tomorrow, Bitch."

"Jerk," he spouted as he left the house.

Dean turned to Kristen, "So we're alone."

Kristen took a timid step towards him, "Yeah, we are," she nodded.

"I really want to kiss you."

"I really want you to kiss me."

He slowly grabbed her hands and looked at her, "I am leaving tomorrow. I just want you to know that."

"I do know," she nodded, "I know that you're leaving tomorrow."

"So you know that you and I…"

She held her finger up against his lips, "I know this is only for tonight. Hell, Dean I've got a boyfriend."

His eyes went wide, "I never pegged you as the cheating kind."

"Like you said, this is only for tonight. Tomorrow it'll be like it never happened," then she kissed him and he lifted her up and carried her back to her room and for a little while it was just like old times. Until of course Kristen started drifting off and Dean getting out of the bed woke her.

"Where are you going?" she muttered, sitting up and turning on the bedside lamp.

Dean was looking for his pants, "I'm going to hop in the shower and then I'm gonna go check on Axel. She and I usually sleep in the same bed."

Kristen eyed him, "You what?"

"She and I sleep in the same bed. Don't look at me like that, it's not weird."

"Uh, it's a little weird. She's twelve."

Dean rolled his eyes, "First off, she's still eleven for a couple more hours and secondly I sleep better this way," he stated, "I know where she is at all times. I'm gonna be gone soon, so this is probably my last chance."

Kristen sighed and turned the light back off, "Don't you dare leave before I get up, Winchester."

"Never," he kissed her quickly before heading into her bathroom.

Kristen fell asleep and for the first time in a long time she slept deeply and soundly. In the morning she almost thought she had dreamt the whole thing, as she had dreamt Dean's return many times before. But when she got up she found father and daughter asleep on the double bed in the guest room. It was a nice sight, Dean was a nice sight.

Damn she had missed him.


	21. Chapter Twenty

"Your Majesty," a demon knelt at Imogen's throne.

"Stanislaus," Imogen smiled, he was her favorite of the demons and the one assigned to care for her, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she asked as genuinely as the queen of Hell could be.

"The king requests your presence in your shared chambers."

"Does he now?" Imogen grinned devilishly and tutted, "I can't help but wonder what he screwed up this time," slowly she stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in her elegant gown.

"I'm sorry?" he righted himself and offered his arm to escort her, something he was not only required to do, but was his pleasure to do as well.

She took his arm and allowed him lead her to Crowley, "There's only one reason he would request my presence in our chambers," she paused, "Well, two but if he ever sent a demon to fetch me to satisfy his carnal desires it would be the last thing he ever did," she laughed softly, "And you can take that to the bank."

Stanislaus chuckled, "And the other reason, your majesty?"

"As I said before, he must have royally screwed something up. Something that he doesn't want me to yell at him for in front of all of our subjects," she smirked a little, "This ought to be good," she nodded to the demon when they reached the door, "Thank you, Stanislaus. You can go now," she opened the door and walked inside, shutting it behind her, "Crowley dear," she called out, "Your queen has arrived," she headed further into the room and looked around it until she spotted him, "What did you do this time?"

Crowley slowly stood up and walked over to her, "My queen," he took a deep breath.

"C'mon, just spit it out. What did you screw up?" she didn't care much for small talk when she was a human, and damn sure not now that she was a demon.

"It's your daughter," he stated, inwardly cringing at what was to come.

Imogen raised an eyebrow, "My daughter?" she repeated, "What about my daughter?"

"I seem to," he paused and scratched his head, "I've lost track of her."

Imogen's eyes glowed brightly as they switched from their normal green color into their demonic color, "Excuse me?" she snarled, "Did you just say you lost track of my daughter?"

Crowley hung his head, "Yes."

In an instant Imogen had him pinned up against the wall, her hand at his throat, "How do you lose a child? You're the king of Hell."

He coughed, unable to make words so Imogen dropped him.

"Her caretakers have her hidden," he explained, "I had them all tracked to the bunker in Lebanon up until about a month ago. They disappeared. All three of them."

"A month?" she shook her head, "You haven't been able to find her for a month and you just now thought to tell me?"

"My Queen," he began, "If you would just let me explain."

"Crowley," she glared at him, "You better find her or I will march out of Hell and find her myself. Do you understand me?"

"But-"

She cut him off, "I know very well you objections to me leaving this rotting, stodgy, rat hole that you call a kingdom. But you also know you can't keep me locked up here, because you can't overpower me," she snarled at him, "And let me remind you, the demons will absolutely follow me."

Crowley was at a loss for words. It was true, she did hold the more power, and regardless of that the demons preferred her anyways. They would happily overthrow him if it meant they could have just her, unfortunately it wouldn't work that way.

"We had a deal, my king," she rolled her eyes, "You keep me happy, fucked, and keep your ducks in a row and I'll pretend like you can control me," she smiled, "And guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm not happy and you damn sure don't have your shit together. You're NOT holding up your end of the bargain."

"One out of three isn't bad," he quipped.

Imogen chose to ignore his statement, "So you find my daughter, or I will. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, little Spider," he nodded as he scurried out of the room.

When Imogen was first serving in Hell that nickname had really bothered her, since she in fact had killed one of her mates and the other one was dead to her before she died anyways. Now she actually liked the nickname, it gave her a sick sense of satisfaction. The queen shook her head and sat down on their bed which was never slept in, only for show purposes and marital activities as neither Imogen nor Crowley slept. She was sure that she was going to have to solve this problem herself. She needed a plan, and she needed it now.

Imogen spent the next couple of days pacing the confines of Hell, dolling out torture to the dammed, ordering demons every which way, avoiding the king, and plotting. It was on day four that Crowley finally caught up to her.

"My Queen," he smiled at her, taking her hand, "I come baring good news."

"Do you now?" she asked unnervingly pleasantly, "And what might that be?"

My demons have a lead on the Winchesters. They were seen passing over the Canadian border, entering back into the States."

"Was the child with them?"

"No, she was not. But, we have every reason to think that she is safe and unharmed."

"How is this good news?"

"Because," he looked at her, "She's not with him, you know that Sam and Dean must have secured her somewhere. Left her with someone they trust."

"Or she's dead," Imogen reasoned.

"Not a chance," Crowley began, "You know as well as I do that if the child had died one or both of them would have summoned me to make a deal. Or one of them would be dead as well, which is something I would have gotten a notification about."

"Why would they have left her with anyone?" Imogen demanded, "I know Dean, he wouldn't have let that little girl out of his sight."

Crowley nodded, "We have reason to believe that they know that you have taken up a place of power here in Hell. So perhaps they are looking to lure you out of here."

A large smirk came across her face, "Oh yeah?"

"My Queen," he held her hand tightly and in the next instant they were in their private chambers, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I'll go to my brothers. They won't give you any information on the child's whereabouts, but me on the other hand," she motioned to herself, "They'll tell me."

"No they won't," his thickly accented voice filled the room, "Imogen, you have to be stupid to think that would work. This is very obviously a trap."

"Obviously," She scoffed and shook her head, "You must really overestimate my brothers."

"No, darling. As a matter of fact think I'm the only one who doesn't overestimate them. They are resourceful. Sure, they aren't exactly the brightest tools in the shed, but God smite me now if they aren't capable."

"You're forgetting something, Crowley."

"And what might that be?"

"They've got a weak spot for family. And I just so happen to be their family. I know them, I grew up with them, and I know all their trick. I'll take care of it and they'll have never seen it coming."

Crowley sighed, "No," he stated, "I can't let you do this."

An annoyed laugh escaped Imogen, "Really Crowley? You're going to try and tell me what to do? You know how well that's going to go for you, right?"

"Imogen," he took a deep breath, "I'm asking you to let me handle this."

"Not a chance, Crowley. I trusted you to keep track of her. How hard was that?" she shook her head, "I let you take that responsibility when you asked me to let you handle that, and you see where we are right now? You failed that, what's to say you won't fail this?"

He gently took her hand, "My queen, we were talking about you providing me an heir to the throne soon," he began hesitantly, "I thought we were going to start working on that."

It felt like her whole body was on fire with rage at his words, "Crowley if you think I would even consider letting you touch me like that right now you are the stupidest demon in Hell."

"Well love, I would argue the stupidest. Have you met some of our demons?"

She glowered at him, "Crowley."

"My queen, please. I beg of you," he paused, "If you must leave Hell please don't do so without my accompaniment."

Imogen's first reaction was for him to stick his request where the sun don't shine, but instead thought it over for a few moment, "Why?"

"Because, I won't be fooled by your brothers."

"Oh and you think I will?"

"No, but no single demon is a match for two Winchesters. However the Winchesters are no match for the king and the queen of Hell," he took a step closer and pulled her to him, "We are stronger together."

Imogen smiled and let her hands roll up the front of his suit and then hang around his neck, "We are stronger together, my king," she said sincerely.

Then the two were kissing.

"So about that heir we spoke of?" Crowley asked coyly.

Imogen placed a finger against his lips, "Actually, I have an idea."

"Oh?"

"We retrieve my child from wherever my stupid brothers stashed her and we bring her back here. She can be our heir."

"Your child?" he asked in disbelief, "You can't be serious."

"I am," she said with a nod, "Deadly serious."

"Well little Spider, may I point out some flaws in your proposition?"

"Go ahead."

"First and foremost, that child of yours is simply that. A child of yours. Yours and that angel. She would not be my heir."

"But she would be mine," the queen retorted, "I am your Queen, am I not?"

"You are."

"So therefore my blood could theoretically inherit my throne."

"Yes, but love the child is human."

"Only partially. We could beat that humanity right out of her. The way you did to me," she brushed her lips against his.

Crowley shuddered, "She's not a male. Males are supposed to inherit the throne."

"How sexist of you," she whispered against his lips "Women hold more power anyways. Wouldn't you rather a woman take the throne than a man who might take a wife and then have to listen to her?"

Crowley frowned, "Love, I don't know if you realize this but that child is part human and part angel. She wouldn't make a good ruler of Hell, she's inherently good. Unlike me and unlike you."

"What are you saying? That my offspring isn't as evil as I am? You turned me. Why can't we turn her?"

He shook his head, "You really want to torture your child?"

Imogen took a deep breath, "No, I guess that I don't. Fine," she nodded, "We bring my child here, to the safety of Hell, and then I will give you an heir or heiress to your throne."

"Thank you little Spider," he kissed her.

"So we have an agreement?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Yes we do. Together we will retrieve the child and we will bring her here."

"She will be safe here?"

"Very," he nodded, "I will have demons tending to her twenty-four hours a day. Or she never has to leave our sight, whatever the queen wants the queen will get."

Imogen nodded, "When she is here and safe then we can expand our little family."

"Okay," the king sighed, "There's only one little issue… Well, two overgrown, flannel clad issues if I'm being precise."

"Yeah."

"You know that they will stop at nothing to get her back? They will storm our kingdom. Dismantle it board by board to get her, and you for that matter, back Earth side."

"Not only them, but Castiel too," a smile came across her face, even after all these years in hell that name still fell so satisfyingly from her mouth, "We'll have to take out all three of them. Killing them is going to be fun."

"That's my queen," he kissed her roughly, "I knew I chose right when I got a Winchester on board with me."

"Yes, well, you have good taste," she complimented as she pulled away from him, "Now let's make a plan."


	22. Chapter Twenty-One

Axel was lying in bed beside Dean and scrolling through her phone when Dean woke up.

"Hey," he groaned softly, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "Good morning."

Axel set her phone down and sat up, letting out a loud yawn, "Morning. Hey, I found this awesome place online. This museum, it's in Vancouver."

"Oh?" Dean turned and laid his feet on the floor, "Guess that's what I get for getting you your own cell phone."

"Yeah, I know you're not big on museums or whatever, so maybe when we head back home we can stop there and me and Uncle Sam can walk through it while you go do something else."

"Uh," Dean scratched his head as he stood up, "I don't think so Axe."

"How come?" she looked at him, "I mean, I know it's probably a little bit out of the way."

"No, Axel," he barked, "You're not going to the museum."

"Okay," she looked down at her lap, "Why are you mad? I was just asking."

Dean took a deep breath, "Axel, we're not going back."

"We're not?" she looked at him, "We're staying here?"

"No," he shook his head, "We're not staying here," he hated that he was dragging this out. He wanted to just say it, but damn it was hard.

"So where are we going?"

His heart was racing, "We're not," he swallowed hard, "Axel," he couldn't look at her, "You're going to stay here with Kristen, you're-uh-mother. And Sammy and I are going to take care of some stuff back home."

Axel felt her blood run cold and her throat felt like it was closing up, she swallowed hard and looked at her father, "What?"

Dean couldn't speak. He couldn't repeat what he had just said. It was hard enough the first time.

"No," she said calmly, "No, you're not leaving me here, Dad. I'm going with you and Uncle Sam. We're all going back to the bunker together. You and me and Uncle Sam. I'm going back to my school and it's all going back to the way things were."

Slowly Dean shook his head and sighed, "No, baby girl," he felt like he was about to pass out, and he talked slowly, "You're going to stay here with Kris- your mom. She's going to take you up to the school here in town and enroll you."

"No, Dad. I'm coming back with you. End of discussion."

He took a deep breath, "No Axel, you can't come. Not right now," he said sternly, "You're staying here with your mom. That's the end of discussion."

"But Dad-" she began desperately.

"No, Axel. No buts. You are staying here."

"How long?" she demanded, getting up off of the bed, "How long do I have to stay here? How long until I get to come home?"

"A little while," he still couldn't look at her.

"How long?" her voice was getting louder, "How long are you ditching me here?"

"I'm not ditching you, Axel."

"Yeah you are!" she screamed, her voice breaking, "You're leaving me here with someone who I don't know and who didn't even want me to begin with!"

"Axel," he said tensely, "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I don't?" she growled, "This is complete bullshit!"

"Axel," he was grinding his teeth in his mouth, "Watch what you say. I'm your father."

"Yeah, you're my father. But you know what else you are?"

"What's that?" he asked, annoyed, knowing that her answer wasn't going to please him in the slightest.

"You're a dick."

"Axel," he huffed, "I want you to apologize."

"Sure," she nodded, "Just as soon as all three of us are in the car and on the way home together. Until then you're a dick."

All of his built up fear and anger came out in the worst way as he found himself raising up his hand and slapping her across the cheek. Never in her twelve years as his daughter had Dean slapped her. He'd never even spanked her. It's not like he hit her hard enough to hurt her, but he didn't have to. Just the action was enough to make an impression.

She raised her hand up to rub her stinging cheek and the look she gave Dean made him feel worse than anything ever had in his life ever before.

"Axel I'm so sorry," he breathed.

"Save it," she turned away from him.

"Axel," he took a step towards her, "I'm so sorry."

"No you're not!" she turned to scream at him, "You never wanted me! My mom never wanted me! No one ever wanted me. I'm just a nuisance!" tears were streaming down her cheeks, "I hate you!"

Dean would be lying if he said her words hadn't cut him like a knife even though he knew that she was just upset and emotional and would apologize for it later. "It'll only be for a little while," he stated, immediately regretting it but not being able to stop himself, "I'll come back and visit and we'll talk all the time on the phone. Sammy can teach me how to use that Skype thing on the computer too."

Axel rolled her eyes, "Just go," she growled, "I don't need you anyways."

Slowly Dean took a breath and looked once more at his daughter, "By kiddo," he said softly before he turned to walk out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. Kristen was directly on the other side of it and Dean jumped with surprise.

"Sorry," she immediately apologized, "I wasn't eavesdropping… I mean, I was. But I wasn't trying to. I heard yelling so I came but then I realized you guys were having a moment, so I didn't want to interrupt."

Dean shook his head, "No, it's fine. I mean, it's your house."

Kristen nodded slowly, "She didn't take the news well, huh?"

"No, but I didn't really expect her too. She is a Winchester after all."

She smiled sadly, "Hey, Dean. You're right, she's a Winchester. Which means soon enough she's going to forgive you and apologize and realize that you are doing what you think is best."

"Yeah," Dean muttered.

"Dean," she stepped closer to him and lay her hand on his cheek so that she could make him look at her, "I don't know her very well, but I see the way she looks at you. You're everything to that little girl. It's gonna be okay."

"I know," he sighed softly, "It's just gonna be the waiting for her to come around that'll suck."

Kristen leaned in and kissed him softly, "Thank you for coming here."

"Thanks for letting me," he kissed her back, "Got anything for breakfast?"

"Well," she smirked, "I can make you pancakes and bacon."

Dean scoffed, "Please, if I remember properly your cooking is terrible."

"Hey," she feigned offense, "I've had some more practice since I burned that toast."

He shook his head, "You didn't just burn the toast. You set the damn toaster on fire and the whole motel had to be evacuated."

She rolled her eyes, "One time, Dean. One time. Are you ever gonna let that go?"

He shook his head, "Not a chance."

"Come on," she took his hand and pulled him into the kitchen, "Besides, if I'm gonna be pulling Mom duty I need to know how to cook."

"Nah," Dean said motioning for her to move aside so that he could do the cooking, "Axel knows how to cook. She learned from the best."

"Gordon Ramsay?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "Very funny," he said, bending down to look in the fridge, "Have you talked to Sam this morning?"

"Yeah, he's on his way. He was packing up and checking out of the motel."

"Well, he's gonna have to find his own breakfast because all you have is a moldy wheel of cheese and a bottle of wine."

"Oh yeah," she chuckled, "I forgot to go to the store. I don't spend a lot of time here at the house, and when I do I generally order out."

"That's right," Dean chuckled, "You've got a man."

She nodded, "Yeah, I've got a man."

"What's he look like?" Dean asked, trying to sound like he was okay with it, "Is he tall, dark, and handsome like yours truly?"

"Nah, he looks nothing like Sam."

"Oh my god," he rolled his eyes, "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Who knows," she shrugged.

Dean gave up on his quest for food and sat at the table next to her, "So, you're not gonna like introduce that guy to Axel and make her call him daddy?"

Kristen rolled her eyes, "You really have to ask that?"

"Nah," he shook his head, "It's just… I really can't picture you with anyone."

"Other than you," she corrected.

"True," he admitted, "You and I… Well, we were something else."

"That, my friend, is an understatement," she smiled at him, "But you don't have to worry, I don't think Axel will be meeting him anytime soon."

"Why not?" Dean asked, "You guys not serious?"

"No, I mean we are. We've been together five or six years. I just… I don't know how he would react to me having a kid."

"So you're gonna break up with him?" Dean asked, trying to mask the hopeful tone in his voice.

A small chuckle escaped Kristen, "I don't know about all of that," she sighed softly, "I don't know what's going to happen there. Guess I'll just have to wait and see."

Dean nodded, "Well, if he's good to you I guess that's all I can hope for."

Kristen smiled and nodded, "Thanks Dean."

Dean was leaning in, just about to kiss her when there was a knock on the door. Kristen shot out of her chair, "I'd be willing to bet that's your brother."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, looking a little disappointed, but getting up and following Kristen to the front door and letting her open it to reveal Sam standing on the other side.

"Hey," Sam smiled, "How'd it go with Axe?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "How do you think, genius? She hates my guts."

Sam sighed, "Dean… Where is she?"

"She's in the guest room," Kristen answered for him, "Down the hall, last door on the left," she pointed it out to him.

Sam nodded and headed down the hall, knocking softly before opening up the door and looking inside. However, no one was there, "Axel?" he said softly, looking around before turning and walking back down the hall, "Hey, she's not in there."

"Maybe she's in the bathroom," Kristen suggested.

Dean wasn't quite so calm though and immediately realized something was up, "Shit," he groaned, running to the back of the room and looking around, "Son-of-a-bitch!" he yelled out.

"What is it?" Kristen asked, already at his side.

"She took off," he explained, "Her shoes are gone, so is her phone, and her backpack," he looked to Sam, "Track her phone. I'm gonna call her."

"Come on," Kristen said, "She wouldn't run away would she?"

Dean pulled his phone out and started calling Axel's phone, "Of course she would. She's a damn Winchester and she's probably thinking she'll show us or it'll convince us not to take off," his grip tightened on the phone when it went straight to voicemail, "Sammy," he called out to his brother, "Do you have her location? Please tell me you have her location."

"No," Sam shook his head, "She has her GPS turned off. When was the last time you saw her?"

"I don't know," Dean scratched his head, "Half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes."

Sam sighed, "Okay, she doesn't know anyone around here. She couldn't have gotten very far."

"Do we wanna drive around and look for her? Kristen suggested.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, but I think we should contact the police. They can help us find her. She's a minor."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Dean agreed.

"Okay, I'll get dressed and get my keys. The police station isn't far from here. Dean, you and I can go and Sam can go look for Axel."

Dean nodded, "Good idea."

Kristen walked out of the room and Dean immediately turned to his brother, "We've gotta call Cas. He can help us," his voice was desperate.

"No Dean," Sam barked, "What's he gonna do? Like he told us he can't even see her. And do you really want him knowing where she is? I thought the whole point of doing this quietly was so that she would be safe? Neither of us would ever put her in danger, no matter how much we were to be tortured, but we can't say the same for anyone else. That's why we're the only people who know where we are."

"Fine," Dean barked, "Then go fucking find her."

Sam nodded and turned, jogging out of the house and jumping into the Impala and taking off down the road in search of the young girl.

Dean was pacing angrily back and forth in the hallway when Kristen finally emerged dressed and ready to go, "I'm gonna kill that kid!" he growled.

Kristen just sighed and pulled him outside, "No you're not, come on," they both got in the car and she stated it and they headed to the police station. As soon as they pulled in Dean's phone was ringing, he didn't bother to check the number before answering.

"Axel?" he all but yelled into the phone.

"I can't believe you, Jackass," said a voice that was definitely not his daughter's.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two

"Claire," Axel's small voice cracked as she heard the woman answer the phone.

"Who is this?"

"It's Axel."

"Hey kiddo. What's up? Are you okay?"

"No, I did something stupid."

There was a short pause, "Are you pregnant? Because if you are Dean's gonna kill that guy."

"No, Claire," but she chuckled even though she was completely panicking.

"Okay, are you hurt? What's going on?"

Dean let out a loud groan, "Claire, I don't have time for this right now."

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't with your daughter missing."

"How the hell do you know that?" Dean demanded, "Did she call you? Do you know where she is?"

"Why the hell are you dropping her off with some stranger? You needed someone to take care of her why the fuck didn't you call me?"

"Where is she?" Dean demanded, "Is she okay?"

"She's at a Walmart in town. She's fine. What the fuck Dean?"

Dean turned to look at Kristen, "Walmart. She's at Walmart."

Kristen pulled the car back onto the road and started driving.

"Dean!" Claire yelled into the phone.

"What? Jesus Christ you're shrill when you're pregnant."

"Why didn't you leave her with me? And why in the hell are you telling her this woman is her mother?"

"Claire," Dean groaned, "You didn't tell her the truth did you?"

"No, Dean. I told her to stay put and then I called you. You don't trust me with her or something?" Claire demanded, "She's my sister. If you were going to leave her with anyone it should have been with me or hell even Jody. Not some fucking stranger. What's is the matter with you, Dean?"

"Look, Claire, I have my reasons. I really can't talk about it."

"It's because of my boyfriend? I swear to God, Dean. He's done everything he fucking can to make you like him. He's been nothing but polite and respectful too. He's a great dad, just as good as you, and he loves the hell out of Axel. He would die for her."

"No!" Dean insisted, "It's got nothing to do with that jerk. You're pregnant and you've got small kid. You're not really in the position to kick any ass if need be. I need her to go somewhere that no one would find her. This is the best place I found and the only person who isn't you that I would trust with my kid."

Claire's voice immediately got quiet, "Dean, what's going on?"

"I really can't talk about it right now. There's some crap going down that … Look, Claire, right now everything is on a need to know basis. Just keep a low profile, okay? And don't tell anyone, not even Jody, about anything Axe told you."

"Okay," Claire signed, "Look, I'm sorry for biting your head off."

"Well, you're pregnant. It's what you do."

"All right," she sighed softly, "Lemme know if there's anything that I can do."

"I will," Dean nodded, "Oh, and the answer's yes."

"The answer?" Claire asked, "The answer to what?"

"I'll walk you down the aisle, when you get married. Ya'know, if you want me to."

"Oh, Jody told you about that?"

"Yes, she did. Let me know the time and place and I'll be there. I'll even wear a monkey suit."

"Thanks Dean."

"All right, we're here at the store so I gotta let you go and go tear my daughter a new one."

"Go easy on her," Claire suggested, "If there's anything I learned from being a troubled teen, and you and I both know that I was a raging pain in the ass, it's that more than anything we need love and understanding. Screaming and punishment just makes us more of a pain in the ass."

"Bye kid," Dean hung up the phone and jumped out of the car before Kristen was anywhere near the front of the store and started jogging over to his daughter. Axel was sitting on the ground with her back up against the building and a can of soda sitting next to her. He wanted to yell, scream, and shake her but then Claire's words got through to him. That wasn't what she needed right now, she was losing him, and he was everything that she had ever known. He was leaving her and she sure as hell didn't understand why. He slowed down to a brisk walk the closer he got to her and she didn't even look up when he was close.

Dean slowly sank down next to her, "Hey," he said calmly.

Finally Axel did look up from her lap but she didn't look at her dad, "Hey."

"Any good sales going on inside?" he asked, not thinking of anything else to say.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" she sighed.

Dean took a deep breath, "Baby, you scared the hell out of me. You know that right?"

"I know," she nodded slowly, "That's kinda what I was going for," she admitted.

Dean put an arm around her, "Well, good job."

She leaned her head against him, "Why are you leaving me?" she asked, "Why can't I come with you? Is it because you wanna go hunting? You could teach me, I could help."

Those words made Dean's heart hurt, so he pulled her tighter, "I don't want you to be a hunter. Axe, I spent every last day since you were born trying to figure out how to keep you from ever being a part of this life and I failed."

"You didn't fail, Daddy," she said softly.

"Yeah, kiddo I did. You were a vampire, which means that I failed you, at least a little."

"That was my fault."

"No," Dean shook his head, "It was my job to protect you. And Axel, believe it or not that's what I'm trying to do now. You'll be safe with Kristen. She's one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Please, just give her a chance, okay?"

There was a long silence and she sighed, "Okay."

Dean kissed the top of her head.

"I'll see you again, right?"

"Of course," he nodded, "And I'll call and talk to you and we'll text. Whatever you want."

"Will I get to come and see you?" she asked, "What about Claire's wedding? She wants me to be her maid of honor."

Dean took a deep breath, "We'll see."

"Why don't you just say no?" Axel demanded, "I mean, don't just pretend like you're going to think about it. Just tell me no if you mean no."

"Axel, I don't want to do this. I don't want to fight right now. We aren't going to see each other for a while. I don't want you to hate me when I leave."

"Fine," she sighed, "Fine. We won't fight."

"I love you, Axe. You know that, right?"

"I love you too."

Slowly Dean got to his feet and helped Axel up, "Come on, let's get back. I forgot to call Sammy and let him know you were safe."

"Are you guys leaving today?" she asked as she tossed her soda can into the trash and followed him into the parking lot.

"Yeah, once we get back to the house. The sooner we leave the sooner that we make it to the bunker and take care of what we need to take care of."

Kristen drove them back to her house and Sam met them there. They unloaded Axel's bags from the Impala and Dean promised to ship anything that she might have left behind that she wanted. After all, she was probably going to be here for a while. Neither one of them knew just how long, but it would be a while. Axel knew that and Dean denied it to himself but deep down he knew it too.

It was time to go. They had ordered a pizza and all had lunch together, but it was time to go. So Dean and Axel hugged, and neither wanted to let go.

"Axe," Dean finally pulled away, but he held her at arm's length, "When all is said and done I promise you that things will be better."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Dad," her voice was weak and she was trying to keep it together, "Just promise I'll see you again."

Dean half laughed, "I don't want to make promises that I can't keep," he hugged her tightly again and kissed the top of her head. Then he let her go and looked her up and down before spotting the golden amulet hanging around her neck, "Hey," he held it in his hand but didn't take it off of her, "Where the hell did you get this old thing?"

Axel bit her lip, unsure of whether or not he was angry. She had pretty much stolen it, after all.

"I gave it to her," Sam said, noticing the young girl's discomfort and more than anything not wanting Dean and Axel getting into another fight because there wasn't going to be enough time for them to stick around and for them to make up.

"Oh," Dean gently rubbed the amulet, "Well," he looked to Axel, "Take good care of it. That necklace is pretty important. Allegedly you can-"

Axel interrupted him, "You can find God with it, yeah. Uncle Sammy told me."

"It really works," Dean paused, "Only if God wants you to see him though."

She rolled her eyes, "All righty."

Dean smiled and nodded, "I love you, kid."

"I love you too."

Finally Dean let go of her and looked to Kristen, "I can't thank you enough."

"Don't mention it," Kristen hugged him quickly.

"You better take care of my girl."

"You know I will."

Dean nodded, "I do know that," he turned to look at his brother, "You ready?"

Sam nodded and hugged his niece, "You ever need anything I want you to call me, understand?"

"Yes, Uncle Sam," she hugged him back, "I love you."

"Love you too, kiddo," he let go and turned to Kristen, "It was good to see you again."

"Likewise, Sammy."

Sam groaned loudly, "Bye," he turned and headed out to the Impala.

"Call me as soon as you get back to the bunker," she insisted, "I mean, call me along the way because I know it's gonna take you a while to get home. So call me every night."

"Will do."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"That better be a promise that you can keep."

"Yes ma'am," they all stood in a silence for several moments before Dean sighed, "I really do have to go."

"I know," Axel's voice broke, "I'm really going to miss you, Daddy."

"Right back at you, baby girl," he hugged her tightly one last time before letting go and quickly walking out. It sucked but he had to do it. Otherwise he wasn't going to be able to leave. It was going to hurt way too much that was for sure.

Axel took a seat on the porch and watched the Impala drive away. She waited there for a long time, waiting and hoping that Dean would come back. She knew that he wasn't coming back, but she couldn't help but sit there and wait and hope.

Every last second that Dean was on the road he wanted to turn around and go back and pick her up. This felt so wrong. Leaving his daughter behind, who he had spent every single day of the last twelve years with and most of those nights sleeping in the same bed, it felt so fucking wrong leaving her behind.

Logically Dean knew that he was doing the right thing, doing everything he could to keep her safe while he got her real mother back, but he hated it. Imogen had asked him to take care of her little girl. Him. Not someone else. He had promised that was going to do it and now he was having someone else do it. He hated every second of it, but he told himself that he was doing the right thing even though it sucked.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three

"No, Dean she's doing good," Kristen said, holding her phone against her ear with her shoulder and picking up the ferret and setting it back into the cage, "We went down and enrolled her in school yesterday. She starts on Monday."

"Can I talk to her?" Dean asked, "She wanted me to call her as soon as we got back to the bunker and we're here now. Thought I might kill two birds with one stone and talk to you both in one call."

"Actually she's not here right now," Kristen said as she closed the ferret cage with hopes that they would stay inside long enough for her to clean up the house.

"What?" Dean barked, worry soaking his voice, "What do you mean she's not there? Where the hell is she?"

"She's at the library. I got her a card and she wanted to hang out there and read for a little while."

"Why aren't you there with her?" Dean demanded.

She rolled her eyes, "Because I have a life and shit that I have to do and I don't have time to be up her ass twenty-four hours a day," she shook her head, "What do you think you were going to leave her here and I was never going to leave her side?"

"Well I-"

She cut him off, "Geeze, Dean. I thought you wanted her to be a regular kid."

"I do!"

"Well, regular kids get to go to the library and hang out there. She's safe. Hell, maybe she'll make some friends."

"But-"

"No," she cut him off once again, "You want her to be a normal kid, well so do I. Look, we live in a safe town. Not once have I stumbled across a case here, and believe me I've been on the lookout. Besides, I have her phone tracked. I get text updates wherever she goes. And the library is close, she can walk home from here or she can call me and I'll pick her up," she let out a breath, "If it'll make you feel better I'll give you the link so that you can see where she is at any time."

"That would make me feel better," Dean agreed, "Thanks."

"Look, Dean, I've never been a mom or anything like that before, but it'll be okay. She's a good kid. And you know that I'll do anything I can for her."

"I know that," Dean sighed, "When do you think she'll be home?"

"Next week probably," Kristen teased, "I think she said something about meeting up with some bikers that she met at the bar."

A loud groan escaped the Winchester, "You're not funny."

"Ah, come on. I'm a little funny," she chuckled, "How about I have her call you when she gets home?"

"All right," he agreed, "And don't forget to send me the link so I can track her phone."

"Okay, Dean," she sighed, "Bye," she said before hanging up the phone and sitting on the couch as one of the ferrets crawled up into her lap, "Aren't you supposed to be in your cage?" she asked, picking it up and looking it in its red eyes, "You're crazy."

Then her phone started ringing, she figured it was Dean calling to bitch at her for something else but the caller ID told her differently, "Hey Robert."

"Hey babe," his voice came over the line, "I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Things have been pretty crazy lately. We should get together and talk soon."

"What about tonight?" he asked hopefully, "I really miss you."

"I miss you too," she sighed softly, "Why don't you come over now?"

"Sure. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

And ten minutes later he was coming through the door with a bottle of wine and she got up to get wine glasses and she made her way back into the living room.

"Robert. Sit down," she took a seat on the couch and so did he and started pouring the wine.

"What's going on?" he asked, taking a drink from his glass, "Are you okay?"

"I need to talk to you."

He nodded, "Okay," he was starting to get a little worried.

"I uh," she swallowed hard and cleared her throat.

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked, he could feel it. Now wonder she had been ignoring him for a week and now she wanted to 'talk'… This was it.

"No," she stated, "But I think you're gonna want to break up with me after I tell you this."

He bit his lip and just looked at her, waiting. And that was the very moment that Axel chose to show up back at home.

"Shit," Kristen whispered under her breath.

"Hey," she said, her arm carrying a load of books before noticing the man sitting on the couch, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, kiddo," Kristen got up and walked over to her, "Did you have a good time at the library?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm gonna get out of your way," she glanced at the man, "Take a crack at this summer reading that need to have done before I start school."

"Okay," Kristen nodded, "Your dad called. You should probably call him back."

"Will do," she nodded and headed into the back bedroom.

"Who's that?" Robert asked, standing up and walking over to Kristen, "What's going on?"

Kristen sighed softly, "That's Axel."

"Axel?" he questioned.

"Yes, Axel. She's going to be staying with me for a while."

"Okay," Robert nodded slowly, "Can I ask why?"

Her heart was racing and she was sure that it was going to beat right out of her chest, "She's my daughter."

His eyes went wide and he sputtered out something unable to actually form any words.

"I'm sorry," she said slowly, "I know you're probably pretty confused," she took a deep breath, "And if you want to break up with me I understand."

"Since when do you have a daughter?" he asked.

"About twelve years I guess," she looked at him.

"Is this why I haven't seen you in a week? Why you keep dodging making plans?"

"Yeah," she nodded her head, "I was trying to figure out how to tell you."

"Where's she been the last twelve years?" he asked, "Why am I just now meeting her?"

"Because she's been living with her dad since she was born and I haven't really been a part of her life. But things are different now. And for a while she's going to be staying with me."

"Okay," Robert said slowly doing his absolute best not to freak the fuck out, "How come you didn't tell me you had a daughter?"

She had been practicing how to tell him all along, and the best and the easiest way was going to be to lie, "It was painful," she explained, "I was a failure as a mother and it wasn't exactly something that I wanted to advertise," fuck… she did way better than she expected.

"Yeah, but we've been together for like five years," he shook his head, "I mean hell, there's nothing big that you don't know about me."

"I know," she looked down, "And I'm sorry. Which is why I get if you want to break up with me. I messed up, Robert. You didn't deserve that."

Slowly he shook his head, "I just don't get it. You know me, you know that I wasn't going to judge you. Why wouldn't you tell me? Do you not trust me?"

"Robert," she sighed, "It's not that. It's really not."

He sat back down on the couch and swirled his wine around in his glass, not saying a word. So Kristen sat down beside him.

"Baby, if you can't be with me anymore, I get it. I screwed up. This is all on me."

Robert looked back up at her, "Is that what you want?" he asked, "Do you want to break up?

She sat there, her mouth hanging open a little, "I just… I just would understand if-"

He shook his head, "If you want to break up with me then you should. You shouldn't make me do it so that you don't look like the bad guy."

"That's not what I was doing," but she sighed, "Okay, maybe it was."

"So you want to break up?"

"Yes… no. I don't know. Don't you want to break up with me? I mean, hell. I've been lying to you and now I've got a kid and don't you hate kids?"

He shook his head, "No, I don't hate kids. Hell, Kris I was going to ask you to marry me."

That definitely took her off guard, "What?"

He nodded and pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it up to show a diamond ring inside, "Kris, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care if you have one daughter or ten. I want to spend my life with you."

Slowly she sat down beside him and looked at the ring, unable to speak.

"But I don't want to spend my life with someone who doesn't love me and doesn't trust me with everything," he set the ring box down on the couch, "So is this it? Is this all that I don't know about you?"

She wanted to lie. She wanted for everything to be simple and easy, like it always had been before with them. He knew nothing about her and she knew everything about him. She loved him, she really did, and he didn't deserve that. He deserved to be with someone who could really be there for him.

"No," she shook her head, "No, that's not it. I lived a whole life before I met you that you know nothing about."

"Then tell me," he pleaded, "Tell me everything."

"I can't. I don't want you to know. I don't want anyone to know."

"Why?" he demanded softly, "Why can't you tell me?"

She took a deep breath, blinking the tears back, "Because if you knew the truth about me then you would look at me differently."

He just sat there thinking for several moments, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I want to be with you for the rest of my life. But I deserve to be with someone who wants the same thing. Someone who will be honest with me. Even when it's hard."

"Yes," she nodded, "You deserve that."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Well, I've gotta get to know my daughter," she paused, "As for me and you, I really don't know. You said that you can't be with me if I can't be honest with you, and there's some things that I just need to keep to myself."

"Okay," he sighed softly, "Well then I don't know."

She nodded.

"Do you want to take some time apart?" he asked, "Like you said, you need to focus on your kid. Maybe you need to take some time to decide if you can be honest with me."

"Okay."

Robert shook his head and pocketed the ring, "I don't care that you have a kid," he said, slowly getting to his feet, "I hope that you know that."

"I do," she nodded, "And I'm so sorry. I hope that you know that."

"I don't know that," he shook his head, "I really don't. But, I know that I love you and the second that you change your mind and decide that you can be with me then I'll be right here for you and your kid. If that's what you want."

"Okay," she let out a breath, "I'll call you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," he said, turning and heading out of the house, getting in the car and leaving.

Kristen knocked back her glass of wine and laid down on the couch. That sucked. It had really sucked. But Robert was right, she had wanted him to break up with her. She was a coward. She knew that she couldn't do it herself. And if he had insisted she would have had to tell him that she cheated. And she didn't want to do that. The last thing that she wanted to do was to hurt him. Sure, she had hurt him, but not as much as knowing the truth would have. Or at least that's what she was going to tell herself.

Several minutes later Axel came out of her room and slowly peeked around the corner to make sure that the coast was clear before coming out and walking over, "Hey," she said, wanting Kristen to know that she was in the room.

"Oh hey," Kristen sat up, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry about walking in on you guys."

"No need to apologize. This is your home too, kiddo."

"Okay," she nodded, "So, was that guy your boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Kristen nodded, "He was. He's not anymore."

"Oh," she lowered her head, "Is it because of me? He doesn't like kids?"

"No," Kristen shook her head and patted the couch cushion next to her and Axel sat down, "No, it had nothing to do with that. Yeah, he was mad that I didn't tell him, but he was okay with me having a kid. It's because I lied to him."

"But you didn't lie," she reasoned, "You didn't even know you had a kid."

"Yeah, I know that and you know that but he wouldn't understand."

"Why not?" she questioned.

"Well, because he doesn't know about like hunting and monsters and stuff. So more than likely he would just think that I'm lying and I could try to prove to him that monsters are real but once was all said and done he probably wouldn't want to be with me anyways."

"I'm sorry that I showed up and caused so much trouble."

"You didn't," Kristin assured her, "Trust me, you had nothing to do with it. And I'm glad that you're here."

"Okay," Axel nodded.

"Did you call your dad?"

"Nah, I'll call him tomorrow," though she really did want to call him, she had more important matters to attend to.

"You sure you wanna keep him waiting? He can get pretty whiny."

She shrugged, "He'll be fine. Why don't we order some pizza and watch Netflix."

Kristen smiled, "I was thinking the same thing. We're like twins separated at birth."

Axel crinkled her brow, "Or, you know, mother and daughter."

Kristen half smiled as she picked up her phone, "Yeah, or that. What do you like on your pizza?"

"Pepperoni. Whatever."

"Sounds great," Kristen said, putting in the order on her phone, "Want one of those chocolate chip cookie things?"

"Yes! Dad never lets me get them."

"Why not?"

"He's mean," she shrugged, turning on the TV and looking through the options, "What do you want to watch?"

"Oh! There's this movie that just came on Netflix called House of Wax that I've been meaning to watch. It's got Paris Hilton in it. I hear she takes a poll through the head or something crazy like that. Are you into scary movies?"

"Sure. I dunno. I had a bad reaction to one when I was little and Dad hasn't really let me watch them since then."

"Oh, do you want to watch something else? There's also a guy in there who looks exactly like Sam but with shorter hair and way younger."

"No, House of Wax sounds cool. I've always wanted to see Paris Hilton brutally murdered."

Kristen smiled proudly, "Oh yes, you are definitely my daughter."


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four

Dean was standing in the dungeon of the bunker, right inside of the demon trap, inspecting it closely to make sure there were no breaks. This was something that he was taking very seriously. If he missed anything it could mean death for him or for Sam, and at this point in his life death was not an acceptable activity for either brother.

Finally Dean looked up from the devil's trap when he heard Sam coming down the stairs and into the room. The younger of the Winchester's was carrying a bowl and mixing together the ingredients inside, "Are you about ready?" he asked.

Dean sighed and nodded, running a hand through his hair, "Yeah, I guess. I'm just gonna call Axe really quick."

Sam eyed at his brother, "You've called her three times in the last hour. Dean, it's okay to admit you miss her. Hell, this is the longest you've ever been away from her since she was born."

"And? It might literally be the last time I get to talk to her. And you're right, being away from her and not knowing if she's okay is killing me, Sammy. Not knowing if I'm gonna be around much longer to keep her safe is torture."

Sam just looked down and nodded, feeling a little guilty.

"Just let me call her and don't give me shit about it, okay?"

"Okay, sorry," Sam muttered, setting the bowl of demon summoning ingredients on the table inside of the devils trap, "I wasn't giving you shit," he sighed and shook his head, "Never mind."

Dean stepped out of the room and dialed his daughter's number before putting the phone up to his ear, it rang once before she answered.

"Hey Dad," she said cheerily. And though her voice was cheerful it still hit Dean every time she called him Dad instead of Daddy.

"Hey baby girl. How's it going up in Alaska?"

"Cold," she stated plainly.

Dean half smiled, "I know. But hey, you're starting that new school tomorrow. Are you excited?"

"I guess," she sighed, "I wish I was going back to my old school."

"I know. I wish you were too. Hopefully soon."

"When Dad?" she asked, "When do I even get to see you again?"

Dean took a deep breath, "I don't know kiddo."

"Come on Dad, if you're never coming back then just tell me now. Don't make me sit around waiting for you."

He exhaled, "Axel, I'm gonna do everything I can to get back to you as soon as I can."

"No you won't," she barked, "You hate me. That's why you dropped me off with a stranger."

"I don't hate you, baby. Don't ever say that," he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, "Axe, I told you. She's your-"

"Yeah, she's my mother. But she's still a stranger. I don't know her, and it's obvious that she doesn't even want me here. Dad, I want to be with you."

"I want you to be with me too."

"Then why did you abandon me?!" she screeched, "Why am I not with you right now?"

"I'm sorry baby," he sighed softly, "I wish I could make you understand."

"Is it because of what happened with the vampire?" she asked, "It's okay. I'm okay."

"Axel, stop. Like I've said a hundred times, I don't want to fight with you. I don't have too much time to talk right now. I've gotta take care of some things. But as soon as it's safe," he took a deep breath, "As soon as it's safe I'm coming for you."

"Daddy," she let out a sigh, this is how all of their phone chats had gone since he had left. She would nail him for leaving her, then he would say he didn't want to fight, and then the two would get emotional, "I really miss you," being apart was the hardest thing Axel had ever faced and was topping the list for Dean too.

He was silent for several moments, willing himself not to cry, "I miss you too, baby. As soon as it's safe I'll tell you everything. I promise."

"Okay," her voice cracked, causing a pang of guilt to ripple through Dean.

"Just promise me something too, okay?"

"Anything," Axel agreed.

"Don't be too hard on Kristen. She's an amazing person. A little psycho sometimes, but I love her and I know you will too if you give her a chance."

"Well," Axel paused, "She is my mom isn't she? I might as well."

"I love you kid. More than anything in this world."

"I love you too. Can I call you tomorrow after school or will you be too busy?"

"I'd be pissed if you didn't call me," he teased, "Now I've gotta go. I can't wait to hear all about your new school tomorrow."

Then the phone call ended and Dean took a couple of minutes to compose himself before he slipped his phone back into his pocket and headed back into the room with Sam.

"How's she doing?" Sam asked.

"She's doing her best, but she's frustrated and pissed off."

Sam frowned, "Still?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "Can't say I blame her," he scratched his head, "Tell you what though, I damn sure better live through this. There's no way in hell that I'm dying while she and I have unresolved issues. I know what that was like when Dad did that to us, and I'm not letting that happen to her."

Sam chuckled softly.

"What's so funny?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing," Sam shook his head, "It's just," he paused, forming the words in his head, "Before Axel you would have been the first in line to die for a cause. Now, well now you're not. It's refreshing."

"I'm a dad now, Sammy," he looked at his brother, "You won't understand unless you have kids. I'd die for that little girl. And you can damn sure bet that I'm gonna stick around as long as I can to take care of her. But, above all else I've gotta tell her the truth. I have to be the one to do it. If I die and someone else tells her she'll have all of these questions that I won't be there to answer," he looked at his brother, "You get what I'm saying?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah."

"I just… I don't want to die while she's mad at me. I don't want her to have to live with that regret."

The long haired Winchester smiled a little, "You're a good daddy, Dean."

Dean sighed, "I don't know about that," he said, walking over to the bowl with the demon summoning ingredients, "Ready?" he asked, picking up the knife.

"As I'll ever be, I guess," Sam leaned up against the wall and shrugged his shoulders, "Not really sure what to expect."

"Neither am I," Dean agreed, "haven't seen that sister of ours in twelve years. I wonder if she'll have that five bucks she still owes me," he joked, picking up the knife and slicing open his hand, and letting his blood drip into the bowl. Sam walked over and wrapped a bandana around his brother's injured hand while Dean said the incantation and then he dropped a lit match into it, causing it to go up in flame.

Nothing happened.

Sam frowned, "Maybe we did it wrong. Your Latin is a little rusty."

"Shut up, my Latin is perfect," Dean snapped and then turned on his heel, "We probably just don't know the right spell to summon the damn queen of hell."

"It always worked for Crowley and he's the king," Sam argued, "I mean, it was just a couple little tweaks and-" And then the bunker began to shake. So violently in fact that Dean fell to the ground and Sam had to grip a shelf to keep from doing the same.

"I don't think we did it wrong!" Dean yelled over the shaking noise, but as suddenly as it had started it had stopped.

Both Dean and Sam turned to look at the devils trap, or more specifically who was inside of it. A tall, slender woman stood with her back to the men. Her long, blonde hair cascaded down her back and hung just above her bottom.

Sam and Dean traded almost scared looked, but neither said anything.

Very slowly the woman turned around, her arms folded intently over her ample bosom. The dark purple, sequin dress she was wearing hugged her perfectly curved body tightly and ended just above her kneecaps. Her long, smooth legs led down to a matching pair of high heels, where the heel was so sharply spiked that Dean was sure she could easily kill someone with it. Though, that was probably the point.

Her hands dropped from her chest to rest on her hips in a disapproving fashion, but she still hadn't opened her eyes. It was Imogen though, there was no doubt about that in either Winchester's mind. She looked the same, except strikingly more intensely beautiful.

"Wow," Dean stated confidently, clearing his throat, "Crowley kept your meat suit. Kinda surprising, I have to admit," though it didn't show in his voice Dean felt like throwing up and he could feel himself sweating.

"What can I say," her voice was as smooth as silk, "Human me had a nice body," she let her hands run over the curves of her hips on either side, "He didn't see any point in letting it go to waste. My king even fixed the stretch marks and saggy tits that come along with birthing two babies," and then finally she opened her eyes to look at her brothers.

Sam and Dean were both blown away, and both visibly flinched. The eyes, which the men had expected to be jet black, like most demons, were not. Instead they were a sparkly, shimmering gold color, something neither Sam nor Dean had ever seen before at all, much less on a demon.

"Cool right?" Imogen smirked, blinking and letting her eyes flick back to a more human color so that her brother's would be distracted, "I'm a one of a kind. Got 'em when I became the queen."

"Ah," Dean breathed, "Okay then," he was absolutely doing his best to keep his cool.

"Gotta say, Em, we had no idea you were in hell or we would have come a hell of a lot sooner," Sam explained, as if reasoning with his demonic sister was going to make up for whatever she had experienced downstairs.

"Oh Sammy boy," Imogen walked to the edge of the devils trap and stopped, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to get out of it, "Of course you didn't know. Do you really think Crowley would have made a deal with me if he thought you two would get in the way?"

"What happened to you?" Dean barked, "Making deals with Crowley? Something terrible must have happened for you to stoop that low, especially when you had a baby."

"How is the little cross breed?" Imogen asked, smiling and taking a seat in the chair that the brothers had provided. She crossed her legs and clasped her hands over her knee, "Crowley said he was going to keep an eye on her, but as fate would have it something is keeping her hidden."

Dean looked to Sam for help. They had agreed they wouldn't talk about Axel until their sister was cured, but damn it was hard.

"What?" the smile didn't fade from the demon's face, "You kill her too?" a small chuckle escaped her, "Can't say I'm surprised, Dean. You never were very good at keeping your family members alive," she motioned to herself, "Just look at me," she paused, "And Dad, and Sam, and Hell, Ellen and Jo for that matter."

Dean was trembling with rage. If that demon had been anyone except his sister he wouldn't have hesitated to break its jaw.

"Oh yeah and my mother. She's one that you actually killed willingly. Probably just for the hell of it," she smiled and looked to Sam, "Am I right?"

"You should probably stop talking," Dean said softly but sternly, "You don't want to add to the list of things you're going to be apologizing for later."

"Please," she shook her head, "I'm not going to apologize for anything," and then she looked at Sam, "You didn't think I forgot about you, did you bro? You suck at keeping things alive too. If it wasn't for your stupid drunk ass your nephew would still be alive and I damn sure never would have become a demon," she paused to drink in the horrified expression on his face, "Thank you for that, by the way," her smiled never wavered.

Dean turned to his brother, "That's not our sister talking," he nudged him, "You remember doing this for me, right?" he asked, "Well, now we gotta do it for her."

"Where's that angel?" Imogen asked, "You didn't ask him to join the chain gang?"

"Don't worry about him," Sam shook his head and looked to Dean, "Let's get this started. It's not going to be a walk in the park."

"No shit," Dean groaned, picking up one of the syringes and slowly approaching the devils trap, but not yet entering.

"You really think that's going to work on me?" Imogen questioned, getting to her feet defensively.

"Probably," Dean said with a nod, "Worked on me, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but you were just a punk ass demon. I'm literally the queen of hell."

"First off, I was a Knight of Hell. And it would have worked on Crowley, the literal king of Hell, if we hadn't given up," Dean explained, "Doubt your more resistant to the cure than he was."

Her eyes flicked back to gold, "You come anywhere near me with that poison and I will rip your testicles out through your throat and feed them to Sammy."

Now Dean smirked a little, she was afraid and that was a good thing, "Now that I've got to see," he took a step inside of the devils trap and Imogen lunged at him, "Now Sammy!" he yelled.

Sam pulled on a rope that had been hanging from the ceiling, causing several gallons of holy water to fall on Imogen and Dean. She fell to the ground, smoking, screaming, and writhing in pain only to have Dean jump on her. He had planned to cuff her into the chair, but she was stronger that he had anticipated and he knew that wasn't going to work.

"Sammy, stick her!" he yelled, struggling to keep her still and as soon as the holy water stopped burning she would overpower him.

Imogen's eyes were still glowing gold and she screamed when Sam jammed the needle in her neck and pushed the plunger, filling her with the purified blood, "You bastard!" she hissed, her golden eyes boring in to his green ones, as she roughly pushed him off of her. Quickly Dean was pulling him out of the trap and into safety.

"No actually," Dean began, wiping water from his eyes and pushing his damp hair out of his face, as he got to his feet, "My parents were married before I was born. Yours, on the other hand, weren't. So technically that makes you the bastard," the he turned to Sam, "Think you can handle her for a few minutes? I wanna get out of these wet clothes."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, no problem."

Oh but there would be a problem.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five

Sam was standing with his arms crossed over his chest look at his sister as their brother left the room, he couldn't quit looking at her. She was just as he remembered, looked the same, the same little girl that he had raised and taken care of. But so completely different at the same time.

"See something you like, Sammy?" she smiled at him, "I always knew you were a dirty boy."

Sam made a face of pure disgust, "What the hell happened to you?"

She chuckled, "Hell, my dear brother. Hell is what happened to me and might I say it is absolutely the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Why did you sell your soul?" he asked.

"Oh, that's what you're asking," she smiled, "You sure that you want to know the answer to that? It might destroy the image of the sweet little girl that you once knew."

Sam scoffed, "Pretty sure that your demon eyes took care of that."

"Oh yeah?" she smirked, "It wasn't my relationship to one king of hell? You know, he and I can get pretty kinky."

Sam put his hands up over his ears, "Jesus Christ, I really don't want to hear about that," he lowered his hands and sighed, "Just tell me," he pleaded, "Tell me what was so bad that you had to sell your soul and become the queen of Hell? Was it me or Dean? Did one of us die?"

Imogen scoffed, "Please, like I would sell my soul for either one of you."

Sam just looked at her, "Well, you are a Winchester. Sure sounds like something you'd do," he shook his head, "Fine, if it wasn't me or Dean was it the baby? Were you saving it?"

"No, didn't even know I was pregnant when I made the deal," she paused, "Where is the child, by the way? Or did you get her killed too?"

"So then what?" the tall man demanded, completely ignoring her question and pretending like it hadn't felt like he had been stabbed in the chest, "What was so important that you sold your soul?

"Oh, you can catch me in a devils trap and demand answers from me but I can't ask one little question?"

"She's fine," Sam barked, "The baby, she's just fine. Perfect in fact."

"So where is she?"

"She's safe. Somewhere that no one is going to hurt her."

"Oh, okay," Imogen shook her head, "So you dumped her off on somebody who doesn't want her just like you guys did with me when you dumped me on Bobby? You guys are repeating the same thing over again? Oh! Maybe she'll get pregnant like I did and you can kill her baby too!"

Sam took a deep breath and then a tight smile that showed his annoyance came across his face, "I answered your question. Now it's your turn. Why'd you sell your soul?"

"Tacos and Andes mints," she snorted with laughter.

"Just tell me!" he demanded emphatically.

"Why should I answer you?"

"Why wouldn't you?" he paused, "Was it for Cas? Were you trying to get him back?"

She scoffed, "Really? I mean sure I was a pathetic human, but I wasn't _**that**_ pathetic."

"Why won't you tell me?" he demanded, "What could the queen of hell possibly be ashamed of? What do you have to hide?"

But she didn't get the chance to answer because someone was coming down the steps and then Dean appeared dressed in fresh, dry clothing, "How are my favorite siblings doing?" he asked with a smile on his lips.

"Hey big brother," she smiled back at him, "Sammy and I were just talking about my daughter, you know, how you guys dropped her with some stranger and left her there."

Dean turned and glared at Sam, "What the hell?"

"That's not exactly what I said," he shook his head, "I need a break."

"There's still a little while until my next injection," Imogen offered, "Why don't you boys go kick back and have a beer. I'll be all right here on my own."

"Fat chance," Dean barked, "I'm stupid, but I'm not an idiot. You're not gonna spend a second alone."

"Aw, how sweet. We've been apart all these years and you just don't want to be away from me."

"Yeah, not quite sweetheart. I've been where you've been, tried to kill Sammy with a hammer. Now, we've locked all the hammers up but I'm sure that you could find something here to do some damage with. I know this, I trained you."

"Well, I could use a beer," Sam looked to his brother, "Do you got any?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at his brother, "What? No. I don't keep beer in the bunker."

Sam frowned, "Okay, do you have any whiskey?"

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"Uh on," Imogen smiled, "I feel a revelation coming on."

"Since when do you not have a whole liquor store?" Sam demanded.

"I stopped drinking," Dean admitted, obviously annoyed.

"When the hell did you do that?"

"About eleven years ago."

"You haven't drank in eleven years?" Sam asked, "Why? How the hell didn't I know that?"

"Maybe we can have this really meaningful chat later? You know, when our sister isn't a demon?"

"I don't mind," Imogen smiled, "I'd love to hear all about your activities while I was away."

Dean rolled his eyes, "And we'd love to hear about yours too."

"Oh! Okay fun! Let's trade stories. So while I was in Hell your good friend Crowley and I spent entire months in the confines of Hell having some of the dirtiest, nastiest-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Dean barked, "No thank you."

"Okay fine," Imogen smiled, "Then you start. Maybe tell me a little bit about that child of mine. Does she call you daddy?"

Dean groaned, "We're not going to talk about her."

"Why not?" Imogen asked, "She's my kid."

"Then where have you been these last twelve years?" Dean asked, "If she was your kid then you would have been the one in here, day in and day out, you would have been the one to potty train her, teach her to walk, talk, take her to school. You would have been the one doing that. Not me, not Sammy. You, Imogen. You're the one who left. You're the one who wasn't there. You're the one who gave all of that up for whatever the fuck it was you sold your soul for," he snarled, "So you're not going to come in here and try and make me feel bad for picking up the slack when you were the one who walked out on your family."

Imogen just rolled her eyes, "What, do you expect me to cry?" she asked, "You know I'm a demon, right? I don't give a single fuck about you or about Sam or about that kid."

"You're right," Dean agreed, "You don't care about anything, not right now. But you will. In a few hours you are going to be begging for us to forgive you."

"Fat-fucking-chance," she shook her head, "I'm never going to give a fuck about anything again, I can guarantee you that much."

Slowly Dean walked to the edge of the devils trap and leaned slightly over it so that his face was close to hers, "You will," he said softly, "And we will forgive you. Because we love you."

In an instant Imogen had grabbed ahold of him, dragging him the rest of the way into the devils trap, throwing him to the ground, pinning him down with her own body, grabbing a handful of his hair, and slamming his head into the concrete floor over and over again. Blood splattered her face and started covering the floor.

"Oh no," Sam's heart skipped a beat, "Cas!" he yelled as he grabbed the holy water and started to douse his sister in it. She screamed and rolled off of Dean, but Sam didn't stop splashing her with the holy water.

Castiel was in the room in an instant and rushing to Dean's side, "What happened?" he demanded, seeing his friend completely unconscious and bleeding from the head.

"Pull him out of the trap!" Sam barked, still trying to hold Imogen back. As soon as Castiel had their brother out of the trap Sam jumped out too and was at his brother's side, "C'mon Dean," he checked that he was breathing, "Dean, come on. Wake up," he gently lifted his brother's head to check but couldn't see anything through the massive amount of blood flowing freely from his bed.

"Get back," Castiel demanded.

"Fix him!" Sam yelled, scooting away and leaving a bloody handprint on the wall as he used it to push himself up into a standing position, "Can you fix him?"

"Let's hope not," Imogen smiled, "Oh! Sammy, maybe you can make a deal with me."

Sam's eyes went wide as he turned to his sister, "Shut up!" he snarled, "You've done nothing but cause problems since you joined this family. I wish that Dean would have never answered that call from your mother. I wish we never had met you or that we had dropped you off at an orphanage or left you in a ditch or whatever!"

Imogen smirked, "And the truth shall set you free, my brother."

"Shut up!" Castiel barked, "Both of you!"

"Can you fix him?" Sam demanded.

Castiel didn't reply, he finished looking over Dean and stuck his hand against the man's forehead and in an instant Dean was opening his eyes and Castiel was helping him into a sitting position.

Sam rushed over and helped Dean up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Dean reached his hand up and it came back bloody, "It doesn't hurt."

Castiel got to his feet, "I fixed it," he explained.

"Thanks," Dean said, turning back to look as his sister, "I'll forgive you for that too, just as soon as you ask me too."

"Maybe you will," she smiled devilishly at him, "But Sammy boy on the other hand."

Sam shook his head and stormed out of the room.

Dean frowned and looked to Castiel, "Geeze, he acts like none of us ever tried to kill the other one before."

"This is going to be fun," Imogen said, wiping a little of the blood from her face and licking it from her finger, "I can already tell."

Before Dean or Castiel had a chance to respond there was an alarm ringing from Dean's phone.

"Is it time for my next dose?" Imogen asked as she smoothed out her dress and took a step back so that she was standing in the middle of the devil's trap, "Come on bubba, give me a shot in the neck. I'm waiting for you," she looked up at the now empty bucket that they rigged earlier that was filled with holy water, "How are you gonna trick me this time?"

Dean sighed and looked at her, "No tricks, you're gonna take it willingly," he picked up the blood filled syringe.

Imogen chuckled, "You really think that, Dean-O?"

In the blink of an eye Castiel had taken the syringe from Dean and had already administered the dose and was out of the devils trap before anyone could react.

Imogen was on the ground squirming in pain and holding her neck. When the pain had passed she sat up, breathing heavily, "Bet that turns you on angel, bet you like watching me squirm."

Castiel groaned and looked to Dean, "You should go and check on Sam."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, turning to head for the door.

"Don't wash that blood off," Imogen yelled angrily to him, "Makes you smell delicious."

Dean turned to look at her and started to say something but Castiel stopped him, "Go, I've got this under control."

Dean nodded and left the room.

Imogen chuckled, "So, you're still the Winchester's lap dog? While I'm not surprised I really did expect better for you. I thought by now you would have accomplished something," she paused, "I mean something other than being at my brothers' beck and call."

"I haven't seen or heard from your brothers since before you died," he explained, "Not that it matters, before Hell started its uprising I hadn't even learned of your death."

"Don't lie," she looked at him, but the look on his face told her that he was telling the truth, "Really?" she asked, "How is that even possible?"

"I've been straightening things out in Heaven."

"And what about your daughter?" she asked, "You didn't stop by to see her?"

"No," he admitted.

"Really? Castiel, best friend to the Winchester's, didn't even try to see his daughter once?"

"No. You made it very, very clear that I was neither welcome in your life nor the child's."

"And you believed me?" she shook her head, "God, you really didn't know me. I can't believe you stayed away."

He didn't respond.

"When I was human all I wanted was for you to prove to me that you cared. Prove to me that you wanted me, wanted the child. Tell you what, if I hadn't died I would have been really heartbroken."

"Sorry," he said, the words falling awkwardly off of his tongue.

"Don't be," she smirked, "If you had come back then I wouldn't be as well off as I am right now," she paused, "I am surprised that you never checked in on your child. You really didn't give a damn about any of us."

"That's not true," he argued.

"Have you ever even see our daughter?" she asked.

"Once," he admitted, "I met her a few weeks ago."

"Do you know her name?"

"Are you testing me?" he questioned.

"Maybe I am. You're not doing too well, just FYI."

"Yes I know her name."

"Then what is it?"

"Axel Rose."

She chuckled, "You can't be serious."

"You didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. I'm gonna give Dean all kinds of shit about that, assuming he's the one that named her. Pretty sure Sammy would have picked up something less… well less fucking stupid."

"You're testing me, yet you know nothing about the child?"

"Crowley was the one that was keeping the tabs on her. I had better things to do with my time," that wasn't entirely the truth, but she was a demon. Telling the truth wasn't exactly one of her top priorities.

"And you think I didn't?"

"I thought that you would check in on your child, but I see you were much too busy."

"So were you," he argued.

"I'm a demon," she barked, "I'm evil. You're an angel, you're supposed to be good."

Castiel sighed, "You're not evil. Not really."

"Touch my soul, angel. It's a cloud of black smoke."

He shook his head, "That's going to change."

"We will see, won't we?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Yes, we will."


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six

One hour and one dose later Imogen was more hostile and abusive than before. Castiel had agreed to take over while Dean and Sam got some rest upstairs. He was certainly capable, being a full-fledged angel, so neither brother was worried and neither planned to sleep for more than an hour or two anyways.

"So Castiel," Imogen smiled sensually at the man who was standing stiffly in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest. Castiel neither moved nor acknowledged her in any way. He wouldn't even look in her direction, he found that this worked better than engaging with her.

"You pulled the short straw?" she asked, "What time is it?"

"Your brothers need sleep. I, on the other hand, do not, and neither do you for that matter, so obviously there needs to be someone here to administer your next dose and make sure you don't escape."

"Yeah, yeah. You've gotta babysit me," she stood up from the chair she was sitting in and walked to the edge of the devils trap, "You know, my brothers are asleep. You and I should do a little catching up."

He wanted to ignore her but for whatever reason he just couldn't, and he hated it, "What do you mean?"

She shrugged, "What's going on upstairs? I mean, you said you couldn't be bothered to check in on your kid because you were too busy straightening things up Heaven. So that place must be running smooth as Tennessee whiskey."

Castiel just rolled his eyes and continued looking away from her with his hands folded over his chest.

"What, you've never had Tennessee whiskey?" no response, "Fine. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't want to talk."

"So you want to just sit in silence? That's boring as hell. C'mon, neither one of us are gonna sleep. Why don't you step inside this devils trap and you and I can let out some frustration?" she suggested, "Come on Cassy, I know you feel it," she reached her arm around her back and started unzipping her dress.

"Feel what?" He muttered, avoiding looking at her at all costs.

"You could cut the sexual tension with a knife," she let her dress drop to the floor revealing that she was wearing nothing underneath, "C'mon. It'll be like old times. Except you won't have to hold back, stud," she winked at him, "You can bone me as hard as you want."

Castiel shook his head and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. But in the same instant he was back in the room and inside of the devils trap, winding his arms around her and the two were all over each other.

The angel sat down in the single chair they had provided for Imogen and then she was in his lap. Their lips attacking one another's. Clothes flew every which way and the sex was unlike any other the two had shared. Their sex in the past had been good, back when they were in love and they were human, but this sex was volcanic. Oceans of pleasure washed over the two of them as the angel of heaven and the queen of hell became one. Neither held back, it was rough, it was dirty, and it was loud. The chair they started out in was smashed to pieces and they rolled around on the floor.

Mere humans can only go at it for limited periods of time, but neither Castiel nor Imogen were human at this point in time. They could have gone on for days, months, years, maybe even centuries, and they probably would have kept on going if Sam and Dean hadn't run in at the loud, disturbing, and horrendous noises the two had been making.

"Oh my God," Dean exclaimed, immediately covering his eyes, "Cas you're supposed to be keeping an eye on her. Injecting her with the damn blood… Not yourself," he groaned, feeling sick to his stomach.

Neither Castiel nor Imogen took any notice of the Winchester brothers avoiding looking at them.

"Ah geeze," Sam groaned, picking up a large book and throwing it at them, which finally got Castiel's attention and he looked at the brothers. He was sweating and completely naked as was their sister.

"Sam, Dean," he acknowledged both, "I thought you were sleeping."

"We were until we heard what we thought was struggle."

"The only struggle you heard was who got to be in top," Imogen said with a smirk, obviously amused with the position her embarrassed brothers had found her in.

"Put some clothes on," Dean grumbled, "The both of you," he turned and headed out of the door, Sam right behind him, "Well that's an image I never wanted stuck in my head."

"Tell me about it," Sam groaned, "I mean, I walked in on her and Nick once after Ollie was born and that was bad enough but that was NOTHING compared to the shit we just witnesses. Back then she had the common courtesy to turn off the light and cover up with a blanket."

Dean shook his head, "God. I'm gonna ask Castiel to wipe my mind," he shuddered, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Sam sighed, "I can't wait until this is all said and done," he took a deep breath, "She's not going to be the only one apologizing though. I said some pretty messed up stuff to her."

"What'd you say?"

Sam shook his head, "Just that I wished that we had never taken her in."

Dean frowned, "Why the hell did you do that?"

"She had just slammed your head into the floor, I thought you might die, Dean!" he answered emphatically, "I was upset."

"Dammit Sam," Dean barked, "She's already going to feel shitty enough for whatever the fuck she did while a demon, she doesn't need you adding on to it."

"Look Dean, I messed up. But would you have said anything different?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't have said anything at all!" he barked, "I would have kept my damn mouth shut."

Sam was at a loss for words.

"When that was me in there you told yourself that I wasn't your brother, I was a demon. Well, Sammy, that girl in there isn't our sister. She's a demon and she's been one a hell of a lot longer than I was so she's way more out of touch with who she is than I was. This isn't gonna be easy, Sammy. But we have to. We have to cure her. We have to get our sister back."

"I know," Sam sighed, "I want her back too. I just… when I saw you there on the ground I lost my cool."

Dean nodded, "Maybe you shouldn't go back down there. Maybe me and Cas should just handle this," he paused, "Better yet, maybe you should go on a hunt or something. Get out of here before you do or say something else you'll regret."

"I'm not going anywhere," Sam argued.

"Fine," Dean nodded, "But don't go back down there. Don't say anything else to Imogen until she's our sister again. Understand?"

Sam sighed but nodded, "Fine. I won't go back down there unless you need me."

"Good," Dean patted his brother's shoulder, "I'm gonna go down there. I think they've both had a chance to finish up and get dressed."

Sam cringed, "Gross, Dean."

Dean winked and headed back down the stairs, "Hey! Hope everyone is dressed and presentable," he said loudly as he was coming in view of the room.

"Yes, Dean," Castiel replied, "We both have on clothes."

Dean nodded as he came in the room, "Glad to hear it," he looked to his sister, "How are you feeling?"

"Less horny, but a little frustrated since we were interrupted."

"Dose number four is coming your way pretty soon, sister," he looked to Castiel, "How much longer?"

"It's time."

"So," Dean looked at her, "Are you going to fight us or are you going to behave?"

"Dean, you've known me my whole life, I mean minus the last twelve years, but you raised me. How often have I really listened to what you told me to do?"

"Good point," he looked to Castiel who grabbed hold of Imogen, tightly restraining her. She tried to fight him off but she was growing weaker from the cure. So without issue Dean was able to administer the dose and when he was safely out of the trap Castiel let her go and she fell to her knees, coughing violently, "Four down, four to go. Guess my baby sister will be coming back after all."

Imogen coughed, rubbing her sore throat, "We'll see about that."

"Want a different chair?" Dean asked, picking up a piece of the broken one.

Imogen didn't get up, she sat cross-legged on the ground, keeping herself propped with her hands, "Eat me, Dean."

"I'm not hungry," he sighed, "Don't worry, sis. It's all going to be okay."

"Once again, we will see about that."

"Yes, yes we will."

Castiel looked to Dean, "Where's Sam?"

"Upstairs until this is all done," he explained.

"Aw," Imogen interjected, "What? He can't take the heat? I'm only saying the things I was too afraid to when I was human."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Shut the hell up until further notice."

Castiel sighed, "Dean, can I have a word with you?"

Dean nodded and the two men walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them, "What's up, Cas?"

"We need to restrain her."

"Is this some kind of kinky sex thing? Because Cas I have to say that's not really something I'm comfortable with and it's damn sure not something that I want to be a part of." For a brief second Dean thought that Castiel was blushing but he was just as emotionless as ever.

"No, Dean. But if I remember correctly you were able to slip your cuffs and walk out of the trap.

"Yeah, but I was a knight of Hell, mark of Cain, all that good stuff. She's a full on demon, tortured soul in Hell, the whole nine yards. I think it'll be fine."

Castiel stared at him for several moments, "Maybe you're right, but do you really want to take that chance?"

Dean sighed, "No, I guess not. How in the hell are we going to restrain her?"

"Shackles, chains, rope?" the angel suggested, "After her next dose she'll be much weaker. We'll be able to restrain her, I am sure of it."

"Okay," Dean nodded, "Can I trust you to keep an eye on her while I go and get the stuff? Or am I going to walk in and see the two of you going at it again? Because I gotta tell you Cas that was pretty messed up."

"I apologize, Dean. That was not something that I planned. It just sort of happened."

Dean patted his friend on the back, "I know what you mean man, happens to the best of us. But demon or not she's still my sister and that's not something that I wanted to ever see. I'll be right back."

Castiel nodded and headed back into the room.

"Where'd that brother of mine go?" Imogen asked, still sitting on the floor.

"How are you feeling?" Castiel asked.

"Fine," she barked, "I feel fine. Hell, I could go a couple more rounds if that's what you're waiting for. Just take a step inside of this devils trap Mr. Man."

But her voice betray her. She was breathing heavily and sweat was pouring from her forehead.

"You look terrible."

"You really know how to flatter a lady don't you?" She took a deep breath and wiped her face with her hand.

"Imogen," Castiel began, "What happened to you?"

She scoffed, "Please, I'm still much too demon to start getting sentimental with you," she wrapped her arms around herself as she started to shiver, "Leave me alone."

Castiel frowned, "Are you cold?" he asked, "You're sweating."

She just shook her head and slowly lay down on the hard, cold cement floor, hugging her knees to her chest. The shaking didn't stop, and in fact seemed to get worse. The angel sighed and slipped his trench coat off, taking the angel blade out of it before draping it over her body. Her immediate reaction was to throw it off, but a moment later she had herself wrapped up in it.

Castiel sighed and leaned up against the wall, staring at her. The feelings he had pushed down for so long, pretended that didn't exist, spent the last twelve years ignoring because he was an angel and angels aren't supposed to feel, they are supposed to be warriors. Humans feel, angels aren't supposed to. All of those were coming back, all of them.

Everything that he had felt for Imogen was coming back up. He wanted her back. Hell, he wanted to go back and change everything. He wanted to change what he said back then and make it to where he had never left Imogen. He should have ignored his call to action with Heaven and taken care of Imogen and their child. Everything would have been different. Everything would have been better. He really sucked at being an angel.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Hey, hey, hey," Dean gently slapped his barely conscious sister's face, "It's gonna be okay. One more dose and this is all going to be over."

"I'm so sorry," her voice was weak and her head fell to the side, "Dean."

Dean gently rubbed her shoulder, "I know, kid. I know."

She was handcuffed and tied to the chair. Plenty of rope and chains and she hadn't been left unsupervised for even a moment since her fourth dose. She had just been given her seventh dose and soon enough it was going to be time for the last one. Dean was hating every last second of it, with every dose he felt like he was killing his sister because with every dose she was getting weaker. The cure was taking more out of her than he expected.

"I've done terrible things," she said and coughed, a tiny bit of blood staining her lips, "Dean."

"You were a demon, Imogen. It wasn't you."

"No," she groaned out, "Not when I was a demon. I never left Hell."

Dean frowned but didn't say anything.

"When I was a human."

"Stop, Em. We don't need to talk about this right now. We'll talk later, when you're feeling better."

"I can't fix it," she breathed out, "I can't fix what I did. The things I did to stay one step ahead."

"All right," Dean sighed, not liking the sound of that, "We can talk about this all later. No apologizing until you're a human."

He didn't want to talk about it so Imogen switched gears, "Does she look like me?" she asked, opening her eyes for just a brief moment but closing them again, "Axel."

Dean sighed softly, "No, not really."

"Oh."

Dean wasn't sure if she was disappointed or just too weak to speak, "She looks exactly-" but he was cut off as Castiel was walking back in the room, "Cas."

Castiel looked at Dean, "Yes?"

"Axel, she looks just like you."

"I bet she's beautiful," Imogen sucked in a sharp breath, "Does she know about me?"

Dean hesitated but relented, "She doesn't know that you're her mother."

Castiel stood silently, somewhat worried that if he spoke that Dean wouldn't answer Imogen, and Castiel wanted to know the answers. He was just too afraid of being shot down for asking.

"What about Cas?" she finally did manage to get her eyes open and hold her head up.

"She doesn't know about Castiel. She thinks I'm her dad."

"Couldn't think of a better dad for her to have," Imogen said before her head fell again.

Dean looked to Castiel, "Is she okay?"

"She's breathing," he assured Dean, "But no, she's not okay."

Dean nodded and stood up, "Can you sit with her for a bit? I think I need to get some air."

Castiel nodded, "Of course Dean," he grabbed Dean's arm as he started to walk out of the room, "This is almost over. Your sister will be back soon."

Dean nodded and continued out of the room and up the stairs. Sam was sitting at the table doing something on his computer and looked up when Dean appeared.

"Hey," Sam got up, "How's it going down there?"

"Oh great," Dean barked sarcastically, "Yeah we're all down there shooting pool and smoking a fat one."

Sam groaned, "You're the one who banished me to the upstairs."

"Yeah and you're the one who couldn't refrain from talking shit to our sister."

"She's not our sister," Sam argued.

"Exactly!" Dean exclaimed, "That demon wasn't our sister, but our sister is going to remember everything that you said to her! And you really don't think after being the damn queen of Hell for the last twelve years it's going to be hard enough for her to deal without you adding onto it?"

"You're right," Sam nodded, "I'm sorry Dean, I really am and I'll apologize to her. It was the heat of the moment."

"I know," Dean nodded, "She's just in really bad shape and it's hard seeing her like that."

"So the cure's working?"

"I think so," Dean nodded, "She's in the weepy, apologetic stage. Hell, she's barely conscious."

Sam sighed, "Once she's cured are you gonna go and get Axel? Bring her back here?"

Dean frowned, "I don't know," he admitted, "I think Imogen's gonna need some rehabilitating time. Besides, Crowely's probably going to be pretty pissed that we took his queen. You really think he's not going to come looking for her?"

Sam nodded, "You've got a point."

"I just want to make sure it's safe before we bring her out of hiding."

"I get that," he agreed, "How are you going to explain that to Imogen?"

"I don't know… I guess I've just got to hope that she trusts that I know what's best for the kid."

"Yeah well," Sam sighed, "I guess we will see."

Dean nodded, "I guess we will."

"Is Cas down there with her?"

"Yeah, I needed some air," he sighed, "Speaking of which, are you hungry?"

Sam shrugged, "I could eat."

"Awesome," he pulled his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Sam, "Go get some pizza. Pretty sure Em's gonna be hungry when she's herself again."

"It's the middle of the night, Dean. Where the hell am I supposed to get pizza?"

"I don't know, Sammy. Go pick up a frozen one at Walmart. You can bake it here."

Sam nodded, "Pizza was always her favorite."

"Drive safe, brother. Take care of my baby."

Sam rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs and out of the bunker.

Dean took a seat where Sam had been sitting and noticed a half empty beer bottle sitting next to Sam's computer. He picked it up and walked into the kitchen and started to pour it out but before he tipped it over he stopped and looked at it.

" _What's one beer?"_ he asked himself as he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a drink from the it. He sighed happily after he swallowed it, "Forgot how much I like beer," he said to no one as he finished off the bottle and tossed it into the trash can and went and sat at the map table and propped his feet up on it. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, hopeful that he might have a call or text from his daughter. But it was the middle of the night and she had school in the morning, she was surely asleep. Even though he really wanted to hear her voice he settled for sending her an encouraging text for her to wake up to.

Dean was surprised less than two minutes later when his phone was ringing and it was Axel's number, but he didn't hesitate in answering it, "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"Too anxious," she answered him.

"So my text didn't wake you up?"

"No, I was awake."

"You're gonna have a hell of a day at school tomorrow."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I know that. But I was looking at my class schedule and the school map and trying to figure out what the quickest way to all of my classes is going to be."

"How did I get such a nerd for a daughter?" Dean teased, "You're uncle Sam is going to be so proud when I tell him."

Axel laughed halfheartedly, "Thanks."

"I miss you, Axe."

"I miss you too, Dad."

"Dean!" Castiel called from the basement, "Dean, I need you down here."

"Axel I've got to go. But you'll call me right? As soon as you get out of school?"

"Yeah Dad, I'll talk to you soon."

Dean hung up his phone and slipped it into his pocket before hurrying down to the basement, "What's going on?"

"It's time to give her the last dose," he met Dean's eye, "You do know that there's a chance that she might not live through this."

"You could fix her," Dean reasoned, "If this kills her."

"Maybe," he sighed, "I don't know."

"We've got to try."

Castiel held the needle in his hand, "Do you want me to do it?"

Dean shook his head, "No, I should."

Castiel nodded and handed over the syringe.

Dean took it from him and stood at the edge of the devil's trap, "This is it Imogen," he said, taking a step inside and then moving closer to his sister, "This is the last dose. You're gonna be your old self soon. I promise," Dean set one hand on top of Imogen's head to hold it still as he stuck the needle in her neck and pushed the plunger. She didn't react, didn't even flinch. Then he cleared his throat before reciting the incantation, ""Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus. Hanc animam redintegra, lustra! Lustra!"

Quickly Castiel handed Dean a knife and the man sliced his hand open and placed it against Imogen's mouth. Her whole body went rigid and her eyes opened, revealing the glittery, gold color. Which slowly faded back into her usual green.

Dean took his hand away from her mouth and Castiel grabbed it, immediately healing it.

"Thanks," Dean looked at Castiel, not having expected that, then grabbed the flask of holy water and splashed his sister with it and when she didn't scream in pain he let out a breath of relief, "Welcome back, sister."

Imogen was breathing heavily and looked from Dean to Castiel, she started to speak but nothing came out.

Dean leaned in and started untying her, "You don't gotta say anything right now," he assured her, "There will be plenty of time for that after you've gotten some sleep," he looked up to Castiel, "Give me some help here?"

Castiel nodded and started untying her. Once all the ropes were off he grabbed the keys and started unlocking her cuffs. Once she was free both of the men helped her to her feet.

"Are you hungry?" Dean asked, "Sammy went out to get some pizza. It's like four in the morning so I kinda doubt he's gonna find anything. But we have some…" he shook his head, "Actually, we haven't been home in a couple of weeks so we really don't have anything."

Imogen cleared her throat, "I think I want to just go and lay down."

Dean nodded, "Come on," he put his arm around his sister and walked up the stairs with her and led her into her old room.

"You left it the same?" she asked as she sat down onto the bed.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "Well, except for the mattress. We burned that."

Imogen nodded, "I'm so, so sorry Dean."

Dean took a deep breath and kissed the top of her head, "I love you so damn much Imogen."

She felt a tear rolling down her cheek, "I've got a lot to make up for."

"Then you better rest up," he half smiled, "If you need anything, anything at all come and get me. I don't care if I'm awake or asleep or in a coma, I'll wake up for you," he helped her lay down and then he covered her with a blanket, "I made Sammy do the laundry so these are all nice and clean."

"He hates me," she said softly, "He should."

"No," Dean assured her, "He doesn't hate you, I can promise you that much."

Imogen nodded and closed her eyes. Dean left the room, shutting the door behind him as silently as he could and walked back into the main room where Castiel was sitting at the table looking perplexed.

"You constipated, Cas? What's wrong?" Dean asked, taking a seat across from the man.

"Imogen."

"Yeah, we pulled her ass outta the fire."

He shook his head, "Her eyes, they were gold."

Dean nodded, "Yeah that was pretty crazy. Never seen anything like that before. I've seen black and red, and Lilith's were white. Imogen's pretty special though, not too shocking she'd be a special kind of demon."

"I don't know," Castiel scratched his head.

"Do you know something I don't?"

"I'm sure there's a lot that I know that you don't."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Thanks smartass."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Castiel assured him.

"Okie doke," Dean walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, looking for something to drink but the only thing inside of the fridge was a case of beer that Sam must have picked up while he and Castiel were watching Imogen. Instead of getting water out of the sink he grabbed a beer out of the fridge. He popped the top off and headed back into the room and sat at the table across from Castiel.

Castiel looked at the Winchester, "Should I stay?" he asked.

Dean shrugged, "Do you want to leave?" he took a drink from the beer.

"No," he shook his head, "I want to stay. I want to be here in case she needs me."

"That's my boy," Dean smiled, "I'm sure she'll appreciate that."

"Are you sure?" he asked, "Because I'm not. I'm not sure that she'll want me here. If it wasn't for me she would never have been in this mess."

"What makes you say that?"

"The baby is what killed her. If I hadn't impregnated her she wouldn't have sold her soul and she wouldn't have died."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Man, you really are a Winchester."

Castiel's eyebrows came together in confusion, "I'm sorry?"

"Blaming yourself, I mean," he sighed, "Cas, Imogen sold her soul before she even knew that she was pregnant."

"Then why didn't she say anything? If she knew she was dying and going to Hell why wouldn't she tell us so that we could help her?"

"I don't know," Dean admitted, "But maybe she'll tell us. She's the only one who knows the answers, so we've just got to wait for her to tell us."

"All right," Castiel nodded, "So I guess we will just have to wait."

"I guess so," Dean downed the last of his beer, "I'm going to go lay down. Let me know if Imogen gets up, okay?"

Castiel nodded.

"And fill Sammy in when he gets here?"

"Will do."

Dean stood up, "One last thing, don't skip town without saying goodbye. Someone needs to be on alert incase my sister gets up."

"All right," Castiel nodded, "Sleep well, Dean."

Dean nodded and turned and headed into his room to lay down.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Hey," a short girl with long blonde hair sat at the lunch table next to Axel, followed by a tall skinny boy with jet black hair sitting across from her, "My name's Emily, you can call me Em or Emily. Doesn't matter to me. And this is my friend Dudley."

"My friends all call me Dud," he explained as he opened his bag of chips and offered them to Axel who declined with a shake of her head.

"I'm his only friend and I call him Milk Dud," Emily explained haughtily.

"Hi," Axel croaked out, not having expected this bombardment.

"What's your name?" Dudley asked, mouth full of chips.

"Uh, Axel," she explained.

"Oh that's a cool name," Emily looked at her, "Never met an Axel before."

"Uh yeah, my dad was obsessed with the band Guns N' Roses. He named me after the singer, except we spell it differently."

"Cool," Dudley agreed, "So you're new here?"

"Uh yeah. How'd you know?"

"Never seen you before," Emily explained, "It's a small school. Everyone here has basically been going here since kindergarten."

"Oh," Axel nodded, "So I guess that'll make me an outcast."

"Well, then you're in good company," she pushed her blonde hair out of her face, "Milk Dud and I are also outcasts. Welcome aboard."

Axel just kind of sat there for a moment. Making friends had always come so naturally to her, but that probably was due in part to the fact that she'd been at the same school her whole life. She knew how it was for new kids, they would struggle to make friends, eat lunch alone, and today was the first day of school and she actually had people come up to her wanting to be her friend. This was definitely something she didn't want to turn down unless she wanted to spend the rest of the year eating lunch alone.

So she smiled at them, "So, you guys have lived her your whole lives?"

"I have," Emily answered, "Dud moved here in third grade and we've been inseparable ever since."

"Oh," Axel nodded, "So you guys are a couple?"

Dudley nearly choked on his chips, "Oh hell no."

"Hey!" Emily barked, "You could do a hell of a lot worse than me."

The boy rolled his eyes, "You know that's not what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah," Emily rolled her eyes, "So what do you say? Do you want to make our duo a trio? We've been looking for some fresh meat to sink our teeth into."

A small laugh escaped Axel, "Sure why not?"

"Awesome!" Emily cheered, "Do you want to come over after school? I live just around the corner on Mulberry Street."

"Mulberry Street?" Axel asked, "No kidding?"

"Yeah, do you know it?"

"That's where I live too."

"Oh awesome! We're neighbors! I didn't know any new families were moving in."

"No," Axel shook her head, "Just me. I moved in with my mom about a week ago I guess."

"Ah, okay. So you were living with your dad?"

"Yeah, we lived in Kansas."

"Well that's a big move. What gives?"

Dudley cleared his throat, "Em, she might not want to be full on interrogated in the school cafeteria. Why not wait until we bring her to your place and we have the water boarding equipment in place?"

Emily just rolled her eyes, "Ignore him."

Axel chuckled, "I'll text my mom and ask her if it's okay."

"Who's your mom?" Emily asked, "I've lived on that street my whole life so I know practically everyone."

"Uh," Axel scratched her head, "Her names Kristen. Kristen Katsopolis."

"Ah, okay. I do know her, she used to watch me when I was little. She's awesome, but she never told me that she had a daughter."

Axel just shrugged, really not wanting to get into it. Also not sure how much she could safely tell. She really needed to come up with a story that she could tell people.

"So you're literally right across the street from me."

"It's like divine intervention," Dudley interjected, "The three of us were destined to be the best of friends."

"Thank God, because Dudley I was getting really sick of seeing your face every time I turn around."

"Stuff it, blondie."

"Are you on Mulberry Street too, Dudley?" Axel asked.

"No, he's on the other side of town, but he basically lives at my house anyways. Even when I'm not there he's always there."

"She was asking me!" Dudley whined, "But she's right. Her house is way better than mine, she's got name brand cereal and Wi-Fi."

Axel smiled, "Well, if my mom says yes then I'm there."

"She will," Emily assured her, "her and my mom are like best friends. They go on double dates all the time," she paused, "Is your mom still with Robert?"

Axel shook her head, "No, I don't think so."

"Wait, did he know that you were coming up here? Did he even know you existed?"

Axel's sighed, "I don't know," she said curtly and was really relieved when she heard the bell ring, "I should probably get to class."

"Yeah, okay. Sorry, I'm not trying to be nosey."

Dudley rolled his eyes, "She's kind of got no filter. She doesn't understand social norms."

"Its fine," Axel stated, "This is just all new to me too."

"Why don't you give me your number?" Emily asked, "At the very least we can walk home together, okay?"

Axel nodded and quickly scribbled her number on a piece of paper and handed it over.

"Where's your next class?" Dudley asked.

"Uh," Axel took a look at her schedule, "Math with Atkins?"

"That's where I'm going too," Dudley smiled, "I'll walk you there," he looked to Emily, "See you later loser," he said, walking along with Axel by his side, "She's really awesome, you know once you get past her incessant need to know everything."

Axel nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure."

"She's not a gossip though. I mean, you don't have to worry about her spreading all your secrets all over school. No one really cares about us here. We kind of just fade into the background."

"How come?"

"We're not really joiners. Pep-rallies and group sports really aren't our thing."

The rest of the day went off without a hitch and as it turned out either Dudley or Emily or both were in all of her classes with her so by the time the end of the day rolled around they were all together and started their walk home together.

"So," Emily began, shifting her backpack to a more comfortable position, "What do you think about the school?"

"It's small," Axel stated, "A bit smaller than my last school. I knew pretty much everybody there though, here is a different story."

"Yeah, I bet," Emily nodded, "Did you ask your mom if you could come and hang out?"

"Yeah, she said it was fine. She works late though so it's a good thing because she hasn't had a chance to get me a key made. So if I hadn't run into you I would be sitting outside all alone until she got home from work."

"You can stay for dinner!" Emily smiled, "I'm sure my mom would love it. She always cooks enough for a football field when it's only ever her, me, and Milk Dud so there will be plenty."

"Okay," Axel nodded, "I was just supposed to call my dad after school."

"Is he back in Kansas?" Dudley questioned.

"Yeah, him and my Uncle Sam."

"You should call him now, while we walk," Emily offered, "That way you don't forget."

"Okay," Axel nodded, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket and calling her dad's phone, it rang several times before going to voicemail so she didn't bother leaving a message, hung up, and slipped her device back into her pocket, "Guess he decided he didn't want to talk after all."

"Okay, so I've got a ton of homework," Dudley stated, "And we need to get started on that group project for history," he looked to Axel, "Mr. Jenkins said you could be in our group if you're interested."

"Okay," Axel smiled.

"Don't think we're gonna do all the work and you're gonna get a free pass," Emily teased, "Just because you're new."

"No, I didn't think that," Axel bit her lip.

"She's just kidding," Dudley assured her as they turned the corner on their street, "Besides, it's a super easy project. We'll have it knocked out in an hour."

The trio made their way to Emily's house. They worked on homework, did their project, ate some snacks, and watched television until Emily's mom got home.

"Hey mom!" Emily called from the couch as her mother came through the front door, "This is my new friend Axel. I hope you don't mind, I invited her to dinner."

"Hi Axel. I'm Georgia," she smiled then looked to Emily, "I thought we agreed nobody except Dudley was allowed over when I'm not home," she looked back to Axel, "No offense, sweetheart."

"None taken," Axel assured her.

"I know, Mom," Emily got up and walked over, "But it's kind of a special circumstance."

"And what might that be?"

"Well, she's new to the school and didn't have any friends."

"I'm still waiting for the special circumstance."

"She's Kristen's daughter. I thought it would be okay."

Georgia's face scrunched up, "Kristen doesn't have a daughter."

"Apparently she does."

"She never told me. Who's her father?" Georgia was speaking softly, but Axel could still hear her.

"Dean," Axel said to them, getting up off the couch and walking over, "Dean Winchester. I'm Axel Winchester."

"I never heard of a Dean."

"Well, there is one," she explained, feeling a little bit defensive, "Kristen hasn't been around much for my life, and probably why she didn't tell you anything. But I'm here now, and it doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere for a while. Sorry to barge in on your house."

Georgia shook her head, "Nonsense, sweetie. I was just a little surprised as she's never mentioned have a child before. Kris has lived across the street from me for a good eight or nine years and we've been the best of friends, or so I thought… I didn't mean to be rude. Please, stay for dinner."

Axel shook her head, "I really should get home." she picked her backpack up and slung it over her shoulder.

"You said you don't have a key," Emily argued, "How are you gonna get inside?"

"I think I left the backdoor unlocked when I left this morning," Axel lied.

"Sweetie, please. You don't have to leave. I really am sorry," Georgia pleaded.

"No worries, ma'am," Axel smiled, "I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" she directed to Dudley and Emily.

"How about we walk over together?" Emily offered, "I usually leave here at 7:45."

Axel smiled, "Sounds good," she said, heading towards the front door, "I'll see you then." Then she slipped out of their house and trotted across the street, the sun was fast setting and she climbed the fence into the backyard and walked around to the back porch. She checked the backdoor but it was locked so she took a seat on the porch and pulled her phone out of her pocket. It had been three hours since she had gotten out of school and tried to call her dad and she hadn't received a text or a return phone call, which struck her as very odd.

In Axel's entire life there had never been a point in time that she couldn't get ahold of her father if she needed to. If she was at school she could call him from one of their phones and he would always answer, always. Even if she couldn't call him from school it was guaranteed that the second she stepped out of the school building that the Impala would be there in the parking lot waiting for her, without exception it had been every day since she was five and starting school. When she was at home all she had to do was walk into the other room and he would be sitting there on his computer or cooking or watching TV and she could talk to him. If she needed him while she was asleep all she had to do was rollover and reach out and he would be there, without fail.

Now she couldn't just walk into the other room and find him. Now he was over three thousand miles away, they had never even been in two separate states. The summer that Axel had spent up at Jody's with Claire Dean had been there too, he was just sleeping on the pull out. The original plan had been for Axel to spend the summer away, but Dean couldn't make himself leave. So he stayed, and Axel had been glad for that because she would have been lost without her dad.

She was lost now. So completely and totally lost because she no longer had her daddy to talk to whenever she needed him. She had just started a new school where she had gone into it not knowing anyone and while the day had gone okay the only person that she wanted to talk to was her dad because he was her best friend. And now he was nowhere, not even returning her phone calls. And for the first time in Axel's life she felt truly alone, and she would for a very long time.


	30. Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Three murdered and seven missing in Richardson, Texas," Sam announced, taking his laptop and flipping it around to show to Dean who was sitting on the opposite side of the map table, his feet kicked up on it, sipping on a beer. Sam was itching to get out of the bunker, they had cured Imogen in August and it was now mid-December and he hadn't hunted or even left town since before.

"Okay," Dean looked at his brother, "And?"

"And we should go check it out."

"Why?" Dean asked, pulling his feet off of the table and sitting forward, "People die, people go missing. What makes you think that's has anything to do with us?" Dean paused, "Wait? You said Texas?"

Sam nodded.

"Ah, you want to go and see your girlfriend."

A loud groan escaped Sam, but Imogen who had been sitting at the far end of the table looked up from her own computer, "Girlfriend?"

"No, she's not my-" Sam began, but Dean cut him off.

"He's got a kid and an old lady living in Texas," Dean informed their sister.

"What?" Imogen's eyes went wide, "I have a niece? How come you didn't tell…" she drifted off, she could barely get them to tell her anything about her child it's no wonder they would have kept Sam's a secret.

"No," Sam shook his head, "I don't have a child. I was in a relationship with someone who had a child after we broke up."

"You had a girlfriend?" Imogen smiled, "Congratz Sammy."

Dean chuckled, "Don't be embarrassed, little brother. He was in a throuple. Besides, the little girl looks like him, I think it could be his."

Imogen crinkled her brow, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Dean," Sam groaned.

"A throuple. It's like three people who are all in a relationship together."

"Oh damn," Imogen smiled, "You just got ladies climbing all over you?"

Sam was blushing and looking down at his lap.

"Not exactly," Dean spoke for his brother, "It was like a married couple, a man and woman, and then there was Sam."

Sam stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor, "And then Sam leaves the room while you guys discuss his sex life," he slammed his laptop shut up and picked it up, heading towards his room.

"Come on Sammy," Dean called after him, but didn't bother to get up to stop him.

"Wait, Sam," Imogen grabbed his arm to stop him, "What's the big deal? I don't care if you're gay."

"I'm not gay!" he breathed.

"Okay, bi, whatever the hell you are. I don't care. I'm just glad you found people to be with."

Sam shook his head, "Well, they're dead. So it doesn't matter."

"I'm so sorry," Imogen stood up, "I wasn't trying to make fun of you."

"I know," Sam nodded, "I'm gonna go pack. I've been cooped up in this bunker way too long and I'm starting to go crazy."

Dean stood up, "Hang on a second, Sammy. You really think that this is a good idea?"

Sam shrugged, "It's the job. It's what we do."

"It's what you do," Dean corrected.

Imogen looked at her brother, "Since when?" she paused, "When was the last time you hunted?"

Dean shrugged, "Right before we brought you back. Took out a couple of vamps."

"And before that?" Sam added.

"I don't know. Ten, eleven years."

Imogen frowned, "You love hunting."

Dean stood up and walked over to where his brother and sister were standing, "Yeah, I do. But I gotta say, you made it pretty clear that you wanted your kid to be normal. That's what I was trying to do, abide by your dying wish."

Imogen looked up at him, "Dean."

Dean shook his head, "It's okay. In fact, it's probably one of the best decisions that I've ever made."

Imogen nodded, "Okay, so are we going hunting or what?"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Because, we're all still adjusting to you being back."

Sam looked at his brother, "You wanted to go hunting after we got rid of your black eyes."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "But I was a demon for all of five minutes. Em here's been one for over a decade."

"Uh," Imogen interrupted, "I hate to correct you when you're all high and mighty Dean-O, but I was only a demon for two and a half, maybe three years."

Dean blinked slowly, "Huh?"

"Yeah, before that was years of torture and brutalization at the hands of the King. I didn't get the easy, immediate black eyes that you got."

"Well, even more reason that we need to take more time to chill out. Rest and rehabilitation."

"Dean, I'm fine," She assured him.

"I'm sure you are," he agreed, "But I really don't think we should be going back to hunting right now."

"Come on," Sam looked at him, "It's not a Winchester Christmas until we've shot and killed something. We're all back together, it's only fitting that we all go kill something together."

Imogen looked at her brother, "Yeah," she agreed, "There's no one else I'd rather go on my first hunt with again than you two."

Dean sighed, "Fine, I'll go get packed up," he headed off into his own room and pulled out his old duffle bag, but then he sat down on the bed and checked the time. It was nine in the morning his time, so about six in the morning Alaska Time and Axel would be getting ready for school right about now, so he grabbed his phone and dialed her number, she answered on the third ring.

"Hello? Her voice was groggy.

"Hey kiddo, did I wake you?"

"Yeah," she yawned loudly, "It's okay though, I needed to get up."

"Good morning then," he said, not wanting to tell her his bad news first thing in the morning.

"What's up?" she asked, "You never call me in the morning."

"Sure I do," he argued, "Besides I didn't get to talk to you yesterday and I wanted to check and see how your day was."

"It was fine. I got a perfect score on my Latin test."

Dean chuckled, "Sammy will be so proud to hear it."

"Yeah, I would hope. He's been teaching me Latin since I was tiny."

"He certainly wanted you to be bilingual."

"And perhaps exorcise demons one day," she added jokingly.

"I don't know about that," Dean muttered, "Anyways, I actually did call for a reason."

"Okay."

"I'm not going to be able to make it up there for Christmas."

No response.

"I know I said that I would, but some things came up. I promise that I'll make it up there just as soon as I can."

"Great," she barked, doing a lousy job at holding back her disappointment, "Thanks for the good news. I'll talk to you later."

"Wait," Dean started to explain further, but the phone beeped letting him know that she had hung up, "Dammit," he groaned to himself, then sent a text to Kristen telling her basically the same thing that he had told his daughter before finishing packing his stuff for the hunt. He felt like hell, he really did want to see his daughter, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit relieved that he wasn't going to have to be away from his sister. And he didn't want to have to explain where he was going and make up an excuse why she couldn't come with him. He didn't want to share Axel right now, and he damn sure didn't want to take any risks. They hadn't gotten any retaliation from Crowley, and Dean knew at some point they would, and until he did Dean didn't want to give them access to Axel.

An hour later Dean was loading up the Impala with weapons and bags. It had been a very long time since he had set out on the road in search of a hunt, but it also felt like it was just yesterday. This is what he was born to do, after all.

"You ready?" Sam asked, carrying his bag out to the Impala and throwing it into the trunk.

"Yep, where's Em?"

"She's in the shower."

Dean rolled his eyes, "So we'll be here another four hours?"

Sam chuckled, "If memory serves. You know, if you really want it to be like old times you could go and bang on the door and demand she hurry the hell up."

"Never worked before, why would it now?" Dean said, slamming down the trunk lid of the Impala a little harder than necessary.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Dean replied automatically then shook his head, "No, not really."

"It's just a hunt, Dean. It's probably just a vamps nest or a werewolf pack or something. It'll be fine."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"Okay, then what is?"

"I promised Axel I was going to be up there for Christmas. Had to call her this morning and cancel."

Sam frowned, "Why, Dean?"

"Why did I cancel? Because we're going on this hunt and there's no way that I'm going to have enough time to do this hunt and drive all the way up there. Christmas is eight days away."

"No, I mean why did you promise her that? You and I both know that you're not going to be away from Imogen and you're damn sure not going to take her with you. So why in the hell did you promise her that?"

Dean scratched his head and sighed, "I don't want her to feel abandoned."

"And you think making her promises that you're going to come up there and then backing out is going to make her feel less abandoned?"

"It's not like I wanted to back out," he shook his head, "Geeze, Sam. You make it sound like I went out of my way to lie to her."

"Well, did you?" Sam looked at him, "You had to know that you weren't going up there."

"I was! I was going to leave tonight and go and see her."

"No you weren't."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I don't know, Dean. Who do you think you are? You're obviously not Axel's father."

Dean shook his head, "You're crossing a line, Sammy," he huffed.

"Really? Am I? Because the father she had, the father that loved her never would have made a promise that he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep."

"I did plan on keeping it!"

"Then go! Blow off this hunt with me and Em and go see Axel. Lord knows that she needs you more than we do."

"Hell no! I'm not letting Imogen go on a hunt with you."

"Are you serious, Dean? I'm not the one who hasn't been on a hunt in over a decade. Dean, if one of us three are going to be the liability on a hunt it's going to be you?"

"Me?" Dean scoffed, "What about Imogen? She's been off of the freaking planet for twelve years."

"Yeah, but it's not like she's been sitting around and watching TV and stuffing her face."

Dean blinked slowly "Are you calling me fat?"

"No, Dean. I'm saying that while yes she was in Hell she wasn't inactive. She was busy keeping her skills sharp. She's probably a hell of a lot sharper than either one of us. She's going to be a total asset on this hunt. I don't understand why you don't see that."

"I'm going with you."

"Fine," Sam agreed, "But I don't need you feeling sorry for yourself. If you're coming I need your head in the game, regardless of how rusty you are."

Dean rolled his eyes and thrust the keys at him, "You're driving."

"Who the hell are you and what have you done with my brother?"

Once again Dean rolled his eyes.

"Fine," Sam agreed, "Then you go and corral our sister."

"No need," Imogen said, coming into the garage, carrying her old bag, "I can't believe you guys kept all my old crap."

"We knew we'd see your face again," Sam smiled, clapping his sister on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep," Dean added, "You are a Winchester."

"Technically my last name-"

"Ah!" Dean interrupted, "Who gives a damn about technically? You're a Winchester."

Imogen smiled, "I call shotgun," she said, darting for the door, but Dean was closer and slipped into the front.

"Uh-uh," Dean tutted, "The oldest gets to sit up front."

"Lame," Imogen whined, getting into the back and throwing her backpack on the seat.

Sam got into the driver's seat and drove out of the garage, "Okay, is anyone else hungry?"

"Starving," Dean announced.

"Absolutely," Imogen agreed, "Let's hit a drive through, I'm dying to get on this case. It has been way too long since I've used my powers for good."

Both Sam and Dean kept their eyes straight ahead, pretending they hadn't just heard that comment.

"Too soon?" Imogen asked, clenching her teeth.

"Maybe just a little," Sam agreed.

And they drove.


	31. Chapter Thirty

"Do you hear that?" Axel asked, stopping in her tracks and looking around.

"I don't hear anything," Emily answered, looking around, "What is it?"

"Hush," Axel barked, dropping her backpack on the ground and looking around.

"Are you having a stroke or something?" Dudley questioned.

"Come on Axel, I wanna get home. It's the first day of winter break and I want to order a pizza and kick back," Emily groaned.

"Then go!" Axel snapped angrily, following the noise she was hearing, heading down a path and through some trees.

Emily rolled her eyes and followed after her friend, "She's lost it," she muttered to Dudley.

The closer that Axel got to the noise the louder that it became until they reached a clearing with a fast moving river cutting through it. Axel looked all around for the source of the noise until she saw a tiny puppy wobbling around by the edge of the water. It was crying loudly and as soon as Axel caught sight of it the animal fell into the water and the water whisked it away.

Without a second thought she took off sprinting towards the water and despite her friends yelling at her to stop she jumped into the river and swam as best she could to the puppy who couldn't keep itself afloat. The freezing, icy water not bothering her one bit. It wasn't for nothing because she quickly caught up to the puppy. She grabbed it in her arms and then swam towards the shore where her friends, who had been running alongside the river, helped pull her out and she rested on the bank.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Emily screeched, "It's twenty degrees outside! The water is literally half ice!"

Axel was shivering, her teeth were chattering, but she had the puppy cradled against her. Dudley took off his jacket and laid it across her shoulders but Axel pulled it off of herself and wrapped it around the now silent puppy.

"W-w-we need to g-g-get h-home."

Emily shook her head, "You're going to die," she said, her and Dudley helping her to her feet, "I swear, your mom is going to kill me."

"Shut up and get me home," Axel was shivering as she headed back up the hill. Dudley grabbed her backpack and followed closely behind her. Luckily the walk wasn't too far and they were inside Axel's warm house in just a few minutes.

"You need to get some dry clothes on," Emily demanded.

"No," Axel shook her head, her wet hair clinging to her face, "I gotta warm the puppy up."

"I'll do that," Emily said, taking the jacket wrapped puppy from her, "You go get changed."

Axel nodded and hurried to her room, getting clean and dry pajamas on. Her nose was running and she was feeling pretty lousy, but that wasn't going to stop her. She was back in the living room in just a few minutes, "Is it alive?"

"Yeah," Dudley nodded, he was now holding the puppy that was wrapped in a blanket, "I think she's hungry."

"I don't have any dog food," Axel sighed, "I'll go to the store and get something," she was still shaking a little from the cold.

"No," Emily barked, "Hell no. You need to stay inside."

"The puppy! It's more important than me. I have to take care of it."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" she barked, "Why are you trying to kill yourself for this dog? It's just a dog."

"It needs my help!" Axel yelled back at her friend, "Why don't you just get the hell out and let me take care of it?"

Emily rolled her eyes and stood up, "Fine. I'll be back in an hour."

"Why?"

Emily pulled her jacket on, "I'm going to take the bus into town and go get the damn dog some food," she replied sternly.

Axel blinked slowly, "Thank you."

Emily nodded and headed out the front door.

Axel sat down on the floor next to Dudley and looked at the squirming puppy in his arms.

"What's going on with you?" Dudley asked, "You've been on edge like all day long… Not even just today, but for weeks now."

Axel shook her head, "It's nothing."

"You just jumped into a freezing river to save a puppy. It's obviously not nothing."

"I would have saved the puppy even if it wasn't something," she muttered.

"Okay, fine," he relented, "But something is going on with you. I'm your friend, Emily's your friend. What's the point of having friends if you can't talk to us about stuff?"

Axel sighed, "It's my dad."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine… it's just… He called me this morning to tell me that he's not coming up here for Christmas. He promised that he would, but he called this morning to tell me that he can't."

"How come?"

"No idea. I just told him thanks for the good news and then I hung up. I haven't seen the man since August when he dumped me here. He promised and I got my hopes up."

Dudley sighed softly and reached out to take her hand, "Axel, I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make much of a difference, but I'm here and so is Emily and we're gonna be here for Christmas."

Axel wiped a tear from her cheek, "You know, my dad always said that family doesn't end with blood," she shook her head sadly, "Apparently it doesn't start there either," she lay her head on her friend's shoulder and looked down at the puppy, noticing it had some really light black spots, "Think it's a Dalmatian?"

Dudley looked down at the puppy too, "Yeah, I would say so. Do you think your mom is going to let you keep it?"

Axel shrugged, "Maybe… make up for more than a decade of Christmas presents that she forgot to send me."

"Ah, the guilt card," he smirked, "Sounds solid."

She half smiled "Yeah, I thought so."

Dudley chuckled and set the puppy on its feet and the two watched as it explored the living room, sniffing and checking everything out.

"Do you think it was dumped? It looks pretty young."

"Probably," he agreed.

"People are disgusting."

"Yeah, they are," he nodded, "Have you ever had a dog before?"

Axel shook her head, "No, never had any animals before. Not even a goldfish."

"How come? Did you move a lot?"

"No, never until I moved here. I dunno, it just didn't really seemed like an option where we lived."

"Was it like an apartment? Or did you rent? That's why we can't have pets, our landlord is a prick."

Axel chuckled softly, "Yeah, something like that."

"Hey, this is going to sound really lame but I'm really glad that your dad dumped you here."

She looked at him, "What?"

"Okay, that came out wrong. I'm just glad you're here. I'm glad we're friends. Me and you and Emily."

Axel smiled, "I'm glad we're all friends too," she sighed, not saying aloud how much she hated that she no longer had her dad, but she didn't have to say it.

Several hours later after Dudley and Emily had to go home to their families Axel had the puppy asleep on her bed and was waiting patiently for Kristen to get home. She'd attempted to make something for dinner but ended up burning it.

"Axel," Kristen called when she walked through the door, "Do you wanna go out to dinner? I figured a successful completion of your first semester means we should celebrate," and then the smell of the burnt food hit her nose, "Axel?" she slowly made her way into the kitchen where the young girl was attempting to salvage whatever she had been making, "Everything okay?"

Axel looked up and then around, seeing the huge mess she made, "I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad. I was trying to make you dinner and-"

Kristen put up a hand to silence her, "It's okay. It's just a little mess. Why were you trying to cook?" she asked curiously.

"Uh, well I just wanted to thank you for putting up with me these last four months. I also cleaned up the garage… well I tried but there were spiders in there so I got freaked out."

Kristen had to stifle her laughter, "It was my pleasure to have you here," she smiled, "You're awesome. You've damn sure made my life a hell of a lot more interesting."

Axel smiled, "I like being here too," she agreed, "I mean, I miss my dad. I miss him a lot."

Kristen sighed, "Speaking of your dad, have you talked to him?"

Axel nodded, "Yeah, this morning. He told me he wasn't going to be able to come up here after all."

"I'm really sorry, Axel."

"It is what it is," she paused, "I have something to tell you… Or ask you I guess."

"Oh?"

Axel nodded and took Kristen's hand, pulling her towards her bedroom, "I found something on the way home from school," she opened the bedroom door to reveal the puppy sleeping on the bed, "I saved her from a river. She would have died."

Kristen frowned, "You jumped into a river? It was like twenty degrees outside."

"It would have died!" she pleaded, "I couldn't just let her die."

A small smile pierced her lips, "You are a Winchester, aren't you?"

"So says my dad anyways," she looked up at Kristen, "Can I please, please keep her? I'll take care of her, I'll train her, and I'll get a part time job so I can buy her food and take her to the vet and everything."

Kristen chuckled, "Okay, you can keep her, but I'll take care of the food and vet and stuff. She's going to need you at home training her, not off getting a job."

Axel wrapped her arms tightly around Kristen, "Oh thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me."

Kristen hugged her back, "You're welcome. And hey, this is more a present for me, I love dogs."

Axel smiled, "Em took the bus and got her some food, but we're gonna need some more tomorrow."

"First thing tomorrow we'll go into town and get everything that we need. Have you thought of any names?"

Axel nodded, "I wanna name her Bubble."

"Bubble?" Kristen repeated, "You sure?"

"Yep," she smiled, "Bubble."

"All right. I'll make a vet appointment on Monday. I've known the doctor there for years, she's awesome."

Axel smiled, "So do you wanna try and eat that food I made? I think it's probably pretty disgusting."

"Not even a little," she admitted, "No offense. How about we go get take out?"

"I don't want to leave Bubble alone in case she wakes up."

"Bring her with. We'll go to a drive through."

Axel smiled and picked up the sleeping puppy and wrapped her in the blanket.

"Grab your coat, I don't want you getting sick."

Axel nodded and pulled on her coat, zipping the puppy up inside of it and holding tight as she followed Kristen out to the car.

"So what are you hungry for?" she asked, getting into the car, "I was thinking Taco Bell."

"Sounds perfect," then she felt her phone ringing in her pocket and she slowly pulled it out, seeing her dad's picture flashing on the screen.

"That your dad?" Kristen asked, starting up the car.

"Yeah," she ignored the car, "I'll call him back later."

Kristen backed the car out of the driveway and started heading into town, "It's okay to be upset with him. He disappointed you."

"Guess I should just start getting used to it."

"No, you shouldn't," she sighed, "Just because you're upset with him doesn't mean that you don't still love him. Tell him how you feel. Axe, he shouldn't have let you down. He should be coming here. You should be able to count on him."

"I don't want to talk about him anymore, okay?" she said calmly, "I just want to enjoy the rest of tonight and my winter break."

"Okay," Kristen nodded, "Just call him tomorrow, all right? He loves you. I would hate to see you guys drift apart."

"Okay, I promise. I'll call him tomorrow," she paused, "Is it so bad that I want to make him suffer just a little bit?"

"You are a Winchester."


	32. Chapter Thirty-One

"Stop squirming," Dean barked at his sister who kept flinching away from the needle and thread that he was using to sew up the gash on her upper thigh.

"Quit sticking me with a fucking needle," she griped at him.

"Oh sure, I'll just let you bleed to death."

Imogen was shaking lightly and she snatched the needle from his hand, "Let me fucking do it."

Dean rolled his eyes but backed off, "Be my guest," he said, waiting as she steadily stitched herself up, "You're still a freak."

Imogen tossed a smile at him as she cut and tied off her stitches and tossed the needle onto the bedside table in the sketchy motel they were staying in.

"You are the best nurse of all of us, Em."

She rolled her eyes, "Not a nurse. Shouldn't Sam be back by now?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders before looking down at his phone which had still yet to ring or even beep to let him know that he had a text message… Nothing in almost a week.

Imogen watched her brother closely, sure it had been over a decade since they spent much time together, but she still knew him, still knew when something was bothering him, "What's up?" she finally asked.

He looked up from his phone, "What? Nothing," he was lying, that would have been obvious to anyone.

"Something," she paused, "I know that look, Dean Winchester. Who are you waiting on to call that phone?"

Dean shook his head.

"Come on. You're my brother, you can talk to me."

"I can't," he said evasively.

"It's my daughter, isn't it?" she paused, "I mean, your daughter."

Dean didn't respond, he didn't want to confirm it but he also didn't want to lie to his sister any more than he absolutely had to.

"You ever going to tell me anything about her?" she asked, "Like ever?"

He looked away from her.

"You think I'm gonna hurt her?" she asked, "Is that why you're keeping her hidden? Why you won't tell me anything? Because I mean, she's my daughter."

Dean shook his head, "No, I don't think that YOU are going to hurt her."

"Then what?"

"Crowley," he stated.

"Huh?"

"I just mean, we haven't heard anything from him. You were his queen, you'd think he would have come after you if this wasn't a trap to lure the kid out."

"I don't know what Crowley's planning," she explained, "But telling me a little bit about her…. Is that gonna end the world?"

"She won't call me back," he finally admitted, "I was supposed to come see her for Christmas but this hunt came up. We had to all do this together."

"Oh Dean," she sighed, "You could have gone, we would have understood."

"I know you would have," he nodded, "But I was afraid you'd want to go with me."

"I would have," she agreed, "But I wouldn't have forced myself. I know you're doing what's best for her."

"How do you know that?" Dean asked, "I mean, Sam thinks I'm nuts."

"You have always done the best you could do. Nothing less. If you think that keeping her hidden from me is what's best right now then I'm gonna do what you say," she paused, "Can I ask something and you not get mad?"

"Maybe," he said curiously.

"Are you afraid if you let me meet her that it'll somehow make her less yours?"

He didn't respond.

"Because you don't have to worry about that. I'm not…. I just mean, I don't want to take her from you. She's always going to be your daughter Dean. You raised her, you took care of her when I couldn't… and I'm nothing but thankful. I owe you everything."

"I really missed you, Em," Dean looked at his sister, "You've gotta stick around longer this time."

Imogen smiled, "Well, I don't plan on getting pregnant anytime soon so I think we're good."

Dean chuckled sadly and sighed, "She's so amazing, everything about her. So damn smart too, catches on like a son of a bitch. I swear, she's got a bright damn future ahead of her," he took a breath, "Sammy and me, we did every goddamn thing that we could to keep her out of this life, keep her normal."

A half smile appeared on Imogen's lips, "I bet she found her way to it."

"Yep," Dean nodded slowly, "I'm so damn mad at myself for it too. She knew nothing about monsters, and one got her."

Imogen frowned, "She's still alive, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "It was a vamp, caught her when she and I were having a bit of a fight, turned her and just left her. Sammy and I caught back up to them, slaughtered the nest and turned her back, but I still feel like shit about it."

"She didn't know monsters were real before that?"

He shook his head, "Nope. Made me have the talk with her after that. She wasn't all that shocked though, I mean hell we live in a bunker surrounded by all kinds of lore books."

Imogen nodded, "Plus, she's a Winchester. She was bound to find her way to it one way or another."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Dean agreed, "I keep telling myself that, but I really wanted her to be normal. I wanted to do what you asked, let her live a normal life and I did a damn good job of it for almost twelve years. I stopped drinking, got a job, stopped hunting, I did everything I could and then Cas showed back up and it was all over."

"Sounds like you did a damn good job to me, Dean. She's alive, she's healthy, and safe, and that's what's important. Hell, you managed to keep my kid alive longer than me. I got six months before my son died."

Dean frowned, "That wasn't your fault."

Now definitely wasn't the time to argue that so she just sighed, "Thank you for taking care of her, Dean."

"Do you want to see a picture of her?"

"More than anything," she replied, watching closely as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed her a picture of him and his daughter, "Oh my God," Imogen breathed, "She looks exactly like Cas."

Dean chuckled, "Yeah, she does. But she acts just like you."

"Oh?"

Dean nodded, "Such a pain in the ass, just like you."

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up."

Weeks passed where Axel had been completely avoiding his calls and text messages. Had he talked to her? Yes. But not like he had before. Now he would have to press and beg to get any information out of her, and still he got nothing. He'd had to circumvent her by going through Sam or calling Kristen, who if she couldn't force Axel onto the phone with her father, gave him all of the information that she had about her. He hated it.

Sam, Imogen, and Dean went back to old times where they would travel and hunt anything that they could find. Then they would take time off at the bunker or find a nice slice of beach somewhere and chill out, but for the most part they stayed busy with the hunts. Dean started to like it that way it kept his mind off of his daughter who he missed, but keeping himself busy helped him to forget that.

Eventually Axel did come back around and started calling her dad, but by then Dean was off in his own little world. He found himself avoiding her calls and texts, making up excuses as to why he couldn't talk, he even avoided Kristen's calls. Did he feel guilty about it? Absolutely. But it was easier to feel guilty about not calling her than it was to talk to her and realize just how much of her life that he was missing out on.

It wasn't long before Axel quit trying and they wouldn't talk for more than five or ten minutes every month or so. Dean would ask about school and Axel would give him some general answer, because he obviously didn't care, they would sit in silence for a couple of minutes before one of them would make an excuse to get off the phone and go on living their lives until the next awkward phone call.

This went on for almost four years. Dean didn't see his daughter and barely talked to her for in all of that time and he had no idea what he was going to be walking into, or the completely different person Axel now was that he was going to meet, when he found himself on the way to Alaska to pick his daughter up, and man he was in for a big surprise.


	33. Chapter Thirty-Two

**Four Years Later**

Other than her propensity for making perfect grades there was very little left of the preteen girl that Dean had left with a strange woman. Now she was nearly sixteen, an honor student, she ran track competitively for her high school, and her best friends were Duncan and Emily. She had a life, she loved her life, and Dean was going to come in and he was going to take that all away from her again, because the day before her sixteenth birthday he found himself on Kristen's porch, knocking on her door. Only, it was the middle of the day and he hadn't called first so like any normal civilian she was at work and no one, except for the loud barking of a dog, greeted him.

So he found the phone pressed against his ear and listened to it ring before Kristen finally picked up. "Dean?" her voice was obviously concerned, "Is everything okay?" he never called at this time of day, "Who died?"

Dean was at a loss for words for several moments before finally regaining his ability to speak, "When did you get a dog?"

Now it was Kristen's turn to briefly forget how to speak, "Are you at my house?"

"No," he paused, "I mean, yes. On your front porch. Where are you?"

"I'm at work."

"Well, is there like a spare key under the doormat or something? I don't wanna just sit here and wait for you to get home."

"Uh, no, oddly enough I don't like getting robbed," she stated bluntly, rubbing her head which was suddenly aching, "Besides, Bubble would probably not like it too much if some strange man came into her house."

"Who the hell is Bubble?"

"The dog."

"Who names a dog Bubble?"

"You daughter," she sighed, "Okay, I'll talk to my boss and take off early. I'll be there in thirty minutes," she hung up the phone. There was a pit in her stomach, she knew that Dean was only going to come if he was taking Axel back, and she didn't want Axel to go. That was her daughter now, blood be dammed, and she loved her so much it hurt. The idea of losing this child who she had grown to love hurt so much more than she thought it would.

On her way out of the office she placed a call to Sam, the Winchester brother who had bothered to check in on them regularly the last few years. "Hello?" he answered, "Kris? Is everything okay?"

"That's kind of what I'm wondering," She paused, "Why didn't you call me and tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Sam asked sounding quite confused.

"Tell me that your brother was heading up here. Is he taking Axel? What the hell is going on?"

"Woah, wait… Dean's up in Alaska?"

"I haven't seen him yet, but he called me to come let him in the house so I'm pretty sure that means he's up here."

"He didn't tell me," Sam explained, "Kris, I would have called you. There's no way I would have let you get blindsided by that."

"Yeah, okay. I know you wouldn't."

"I'm not even in Kansas," he admitted, "I'm visiting a friend down in Texas. Dean didn't want to come along," he paused, "Is there anyone with him? Did he drive there?"

"I don't know," she opened up the door to her car and climbed inside of it, "Like I said, he called me and I'm still at work. I'm on my way home now."

"Okay. Can you call and let me know when you know something? I really had no idea."

"Will do," she assured him.

"Also," he said before she had a chance to hang up, "Make sure Axel goes to her track meet tonight. I don't want Dean's reappearance to throw her who life off course again."

"Me either," Kristen agreed, "I'll text you and let you know something as soon as I can."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

Kristen hung up the phone, dropped it on the seat next to her, turned on the car, and headed for home. She needed to know why Dean was back now after four years and something told her she wasn't going to like the answer.

Kristen pulled into her driveway and parked her car right behind the Impala, blocking it in, before getting out of the car and walking slowly up to the porch where Dean was sitting. "Hey there Winchester." Seeing him for the first time in years was just like it was the last time. It was like no time had passed at all. Like it had just been yesterday that they were traveling around and hunting together. Like it was just yesterday that she had fallen in love with him.

Dean looked up from his phone, "Hey," he smiled, standing up, "You look great."

She smirked, "You look old," she was joking, but it was still true, "How old are you now? Like sixty, seventy?"

He rolled his eyes, "Not quite."

"You wanna come inside?" she asked, walking over and unlocking the door, Bubble trying to force herself out to get to Dean, Kristen grabbed her collar and pulled her back into the house.

"When the hell did you get a dog?" Dean asked, coming inside and shutting the door, "A Dalmatian?"

"Yeah, Dean I know I've told you this before," she sighed, patting the dog's head, "Your daughter jumped into a freezing river the first winter she was living here, saved the thing from drowning. There was no way that I could make her get rid of it."

Dean nodded slowly, "You said her name was Bubble? Why?"

Kristen shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. You'd have to ask Axel."

"Guess I will. What time does she get home from school?"

"Around three or four, depending on if she's got practice."

"She runs track right? How much practice does she need?"

"I don't know, but she's got a track meet tonight. I'm sure she'd love it if you were there to cheer her on."

"I don't think so," Dean shook his head.

A frown pierced her lips, "Why?" she asked, "You're not staying?"

"No, I'm not," he explained, "I'm here to pick Axel up. We might stay the night, but we need to get home as soon as possible."

"So why can't you go to her meet?" Kristen asked, trying her very best not to get angry.

"We're gonna have to get her packed and ready to go. She's not going to that meet tonight either."

Kristen shook her head and sat down, feeling light headed. She knew that this day would come, she knew that Dean was here to take her back, but hearing the words made it a hell of a lot harder, "Dean."

"What?"

"At least let her go to her meet," the woman pleaded, "She's worked her ass off for this and she's got a damn good shot at winning."

"No," he asserted, "There's too much to do, and like I said we need to get home as soon as we can."

Kristen took a deep breath, trying to clear her head so that it wouldn't explode, "Why didn't you call first?"

"I need to call to see my own kid?"

"No," she shook her head, "Anytime in the last four years we would have absolutely loved for you to just show up," she got to her feet walking over to him, "You need to call before you just show up and uproot her life. You owe her that much, you owe her time to get prepared, to say goodbye."

"Well, I didn't," he said, "That's just the way it is."

"I cannot believe how goddamn selfish you're being."

Dean narrowed her eyes at her, "Excuse me?"

"You left her here with someone she didn't even know and totally threw her life off course and here you are, doing it again. She has friends, she loves her school, and she's happy. Sure, it's not all peaches and roses all the time, but it works."

A loud laugh escaped the man, "Don't pretend like this is about her," he looked coldly at the woman, "This is about you, about the fact that you don't want me to take her and leave and the two of us," he motioned to the both of them, "Not being together."

Kristen was at a loss for words and for a moment her mouth just hung open, "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" though she felt rage throughout her whole body she somehow managed to keep her voice calm.

"No," he shook his head, his lips pursed, "You're still in love with me. Just admit it."

It took everything in Kristen not to punch him directly in his smug face, "The fact that you really believe that shows how completely selfish you really are, Dean."

He just looked at her.

"I love you Dean," she explained, "But this has absolutely nothing to do with how much I love you and everything to do with how much I love Axel and how much I don't want her life uprooted again. I love her Dean, blood or not she's my daughter and she's my best friend and I don't want her hurt again and it makes me so goddamn pissed off that you don't give a shit."

"I don't give a shit?" he scoffed, "Of course I give a shit. You have no idea how much I care about her! It's been HELL not seeing her these last four years, barely even talking to her. It killed me."

"Then why'd you let it get that bad?" she demanded, "Why didn't you come when you promised you would? She waited every birthday and Christmas, she just sat and waited for you to show up and you broke her heart Dean," her voice cracked and she swallowed hard, "Maybe it killed you, but you have no idea what it did to her. She lost her dad, and now you want to take her mom from her."

"Newsflash," Dean growled, "You're not her mom."

"I am," she stated loudly, "I am more her mom than whoever the fuck birthed her, whoever the fuck just took off and never looked back."

"You've got no idea what you're talking about," he said with a shake of his head.

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't, but she is my daughter."

"No," he shook his head, "She's my daughter and I know what's best for her."

Kristen took a deep breath, "I don't want to fight with you Dean. You're her father and I honestly do hope that you really know what's best for her. I hope that you're not just taking her to prove a point, because she's happy here."

"I'm doing what's best," he looked away from Kristen briefly before locking eyes with her, "I know you care about her, and I don't want to hurt you," he sighed, "And I really don't want to hurt her either. She belongs with me, she belongs with her family."

"Fine," she sighed, "I'm going to go to the store and get groceries. You and I are going to cook her a nice dinner and get some boxes. I'm sure she's got a bunch of stuff she'll want to take with her."

"We'll have to ship it," he explained, "Not that much room in the Impala."

"Whatever," she threw her hands up, "Come on, you're coming to the store and you're doing the cooking."

"I always was the better cook," Dean obliged, following her out of the house, "You know, there was a time where we would be having angry makeup sex after a doozy like that one, not going shopping."

Kristen scoffed, "Yeah, well that was before I was a mom," she locked the door to the house and then headed over to her car, "I'm driving," she said, getting in the car and waiting for him to get inside too before she started it up pulled out of the driveway, heading towards the nearest grocery store.

She felt like hell. She wanted to send Dean away, not let him anywhere near Axel because she knew that was just going to cause the poor girl more pain. She loved that girl so damn much and she didn't want her gone, even if she was going back to the best situation, but especially because she knew that wasn't going to be the case.

Dean was a hunter, no longer in retirement, and it was only a matter of time before Axel hopped on that wagon and Axel wasn't cut out for that. She would want to be though. Kristen was sure that Axel would want to join the family business, but her life would be short and painful, there was no doubt about that in Kristen's mind.

On another note, just the thought of Axel finding out that Kristen wasn't her real mother was heartbreaking. Kristen's stomach was in knots just knowing that Axel was going to find out and feel lied to. This was not going to end well, not at all. Not for anybody.


	34. Chapter Thirty-Three

There it was. That shiny black car that was WAY older than Axel. The car that had been the most important object to Sam and Dean according to some random writer named Carver Edlund. The car that her father would tease her that he loved more than her, though she always knew that wasn't the truth. She might not have known that if it hadn't been for the time when she was eight or nine years old, she was screwing around in the car when she wasn't supposed to be and accidentally knocked it out of gear and rolled it into a wall in the bunker, doing minor damage.

Dean had come running in and Axel thought he was going to scream at her for the little damage she had down to his most prized possession. Instead he pulled her out and made sure she was okay. If it hadn't been for Sam talking him out of it they would have gone to the emergency room. But she was fine, and aside from a dent and a few scratches so was the Impala. Later that night Dean and Axel were lying in their bed together and she hadn't been able to quit tossing and turning. Now sleeplessness wasn't too uncommon for her, but that night she had been much more restless than usual so after an hour or two of neither of them getting any sleep Dean sat up and turned on the light.

"Okay kid," he gently rubbed her back, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm sorry," she was face down in the pillow, her voice muffled, "About the car," then she sat up and finally looked at him.

Dean frowned, "Axe, I told you it's fine. I already banged the dent out and tomorrow I'll go to the store and get some paint to fix the scratches. If it will make you feel better I'll let you help me fix it, it's really no big deal."

She nodded slowly, "You're not mad?"

"No. I know it was an accident. I also know you'll never do something like that again. Am I right?"

She had agreed and her promise was about to hold true. What she was about to do wasn't going to be an accident by any stretch of the imagination. Axel had noticed the Impala as soon as she had turned onto her street from her short walk home from school. As she neared the car she dropped her backpack in the grass and picked up the biggest rock she could find and before she had a chance to talk herself out of this lunacy the Impala's windshield was shattered and there was a giant rock nestled on the front seat.

Slowly she looked around her at her neighbors houses, no one had come outside to inspect. They were likely all still at work since Axel had a half day at school and had gotten home way earlier than usual. However, Bubble was barking loudly from inside of the house and scratching at the front door.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Emily screeched, "You can't just throw rocks through windows! Do you want to go to jail? Whose car even is this?"

Axel had completely forgotten that her best friend, who had walked home with her and stood beside her as she had committed the act of vandalism, was with her at all, "Huh?" she said, as if she had been in some sort of a trance, "You should probably go home."

"What the hell, Axe?"

"Go home," she stated, "I'll call you later," she turned on her heel and smiled a little before she picked her backpack up and headed inside noticing that her mom's car wasn't in the driveway. Was her dad just inside alone? No. No way. He would have come out to see when she smashed the windshield.

Once inside of the house she let Bubble into the backyard to run around and relive herself and when Bubble was ready to come back inside Axel let her in and grabbed something for the both of them to snack on from the kitchen and made her way to her bedroom, the dog on her heels, locking the door behind them. She needed some kind of warning other than Dean just barging in. He was going to be pissed, he deserved it after leaving her here and not visiting even once in the last four years. He always promised he would for Christmas or her birthday or whatever but something always came up and he could never tell her what it was. Every time he would call to cancel Axel would ask if he was hunting, he always said no. They both knew the truth though.

But he was finally here, tomorrow was her birthday, her sixteenth birthday, and the first one he had been around for since she was twelve. The day that Axel had been waiting for, for four years, Dean's return. Her father was in town, no warning, nothing. Was he going to take her back? Did Axel even want to go back? Was Kristen wanting her to leave?

At first she might have thought that something bad had happened, someone had died, but the only way her dad would have come all the way here to tell her that is if it had been her Uncle Sam, and she knew for a fact he was fine as she had just talked to him on the phone the night before and there's no way Dean could have driven the Impala up here that quickly.

Axel was laying on her stomach on her bed, Bubble curled up beside her, and was starting on her homework when she heard Kristen's car pulling into the driveway and very shortly after her father's familiar and distressed voice yelling about his car.

"I'll be right back," she assured the Dalmatian as she slowly got off the bed and headed to the front door, but Bubble followed after her anyways. She was just going to play this off as having no idea about the smashed windshield, sure he deserved to be punished but she didn't.

Axel opened up the front door, Bubble growled upon seeing Dean, not something she did often. "Stay," she ordered the dog, closing the door before the canine could get out. Dean was standing on the lawn, too occupied looking at his car to notice his daughter there.

Kristen however did see her standing there, "You're home?" she asked, "Why aren't you at school?"

"It was a half day," she looked at Dean, "What's he doing here?"

Now Dean did finally turn to look at Axel and everything about the car faded from his mind. This was the first he had laid eyes on her in four years, sure he had seen a few pictures but it was nothing compared to this.

"Axe" he walked over to her, "Damn you look different."

Axel nodded suspiciously, "You too," she looked at him, "I think your hair line is receding."

Dean sighed softly, "I missed you kid," and then he wrapped his arms around hugging her tightly.

She stood there with her hands at her sides. Every piece of her wanted to hug him back, wanted to cry. She hated the fact that she was so glad he was here, but she couldn't let him know that. He didn't deserve her love, not after ditching her without so much as an explanation. Just an _, 'I'll tell you when I can,'_ and all those broken promises about coming up to see her. That's probably what hurt the most, every birthday and holiday she would wake up and wait for him, only to be greeted by a text message later that evening with a half-baked apology. Had he not told her he was coming, it wouldn't have been so bad, and she wouldn't have gotten her hopes up.

She was almost sixteen now. It had been four years and while they had talked on the phone with little animosity Axel couldn't help but to feel angry that he was here now and no one had warned her. She couldn't shake the feeling that now everything was going to change and that was the last thing that she wanted. Axel had built a life here with Kristen, she liked her school, she had friends, and she was even running track, she had a meet tonight and everything. Now her dad was here and he was going to rip her away from her life again. Just like he had done four years ago when he had left her here without an explanation.

"Should we file a police report?" Kristen asked, breaking up the little reunion between father and daughter.

Dean turned around and was almost as surprised as the first time he saw that his windshield had been smashed in by a giant rock, "Dammit," he muttered, "Axe, was this here when you got here?"

"When I got home?" She asked, feeling a little proud, "Nope."

"Well, did you hear anything?"

"Yep."

"Did you get a look at whoever did it?"

She pondered his question for a few moments, "I thought it would be best not to intervene. You always told me to stay out of the line of fire."

Dean sighed, "Guess I'll just have to get it fixed, hopefully a shop or something will be open. We're gonna have to stay overnight," he looked to Kristen, "Is it okay if we stay here?"

"Of course," she smiled warmly at the man, "My home is your home."

"We?" Axel asked, "Is Uncle Sam with you?"

Dean frowned, "No kiddo, I mean you and me. I came here to pick you up."

Axel's eyes went wide, "What?" she wasn't surprised, more or less appalled.

"It's time for you to come home and it's time you and I had a little talk."

"What about you?" she looked to Kristen, "You're coming with us too, right?"

She frowned, "I wish I could."

Now she felt like crying, "I just... I just got a mom and now…" she was trembling. Man, she felt stupid. She knew when she saw his car what that meant, so why was she making a scene?

Kristen walked over and hugged her, "Hey, hey. It's okay. You can always call or text and you're welcome here anytime."

"You don't want me here anymore?" she asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No Axel. That's not it," Kristen was at a loss for words.

"Then what is it?" Axel demanded, "I'm good in school, I get good grades. I do what you say. I don't stay out all night. I do all my chores. You don't want me anymore? What is it? What did I do?" she pleaded desperately.

"Of course I want you. Axel, I love you to death and these last few years with you have been the absolute best years of my life," she took a breath, she was on the verge of tears which wasn't like her at all, "But Dean's you dad and he gets to decide-"

"You're my mom!" Axel barked, "You get to decide too! Why are you willing to let him take me? Do I really mean nothing to you? Don't you even care about me?" she cried out, "I love you! I know I don't say it. I know I don't call you mom, but-" she was breathing hard and was so worked up that she couldn't speak.

Kristen's mouth fell open, she wanted to speak, to say something to make all of this go away, to make everything better again ... but she couldn't think of anything that would fix this.

"Axel enough," Dean barked unhappily, "She doesn't get to decide this. This is up to me."

"Why not?" the teen demanded turning and glaring at her father, "Why doesn't she get a say? She's been the one taking care of me, not you. She should have more of a say! If she wants to let me live here then I want to stay."

"It doesn't matter if she wants you to stay or not, I get to make this decision. And I say that you're coming with me, that's final."

"No! I built a life here, I have friends, and I love my school. If all of that is getting ripped away from me then I want my mother to have a say. She gets to decide this too!"

Dean took a deep breath and did everything he could to maintain his calm, "No," he stated calmly, "She doesn't," His frustration was growing increasingly, but he was doing his best to hide it, but that wasn't going to last much longer.

"Why not!?"

"Because she's not really your mother, Axel," he blurted out and immediately regretted it.

Axel mouth hung open and she looked from Dean to Kristen, "You're not?"

Kristen looked like she was going to puke, "Not by blood," she admitted, "But in every other way that matters …" she trailed off knowing that her words were likely falling on deaf ears.

The young girl looked back to Dean, "You lied to me," her voice showed just how broken she really was.

Dean shrugged, pretending like her words didn't bother him, "You wanted a mother and I needed someone to keep you safe while I saved the world," he didn't regret his decision, but hurting her was the last thing he ever wanted to do, and it was all he seemed to know how to do anymore.

Slowly she shook her head, "What else did you lie to me about?" she demanded.

"Too many things to list," he said almost jokingly. He was angrier with himself than anything but he was taking it out on her.

"I hate you," she snarled as she turned on her heel and stalked back into the house, but when she got to the door she turned to face him once again, "I smashed your windshield with that rock, and I loved every second of it," she said haughtily as she slammed the front door and stomped to her room.

Dean took a deep breath. It had been a while since he'd had to deal with one of her fits. Were they worse now or did it just seem that way because they had been apart for so long? Dean wasn't sure. "I should probably go after her," the aging man decided.

"No you definitely should not," Kristen shook her head, "Not if you want to live to see morning. One thing I've learned about her is when she's pissed it's best to stay out of the way and let her cool off."

"That bad, eh?"

"Guess she got that from you," Kristen said with a nod, "So since you're here to get her does that mean I can finally know the secret? I mean, who's her mother? It must be someone we both know or you would have already told me."

Dean looked down at his feet, "It is someone you know," he confirmed, "Imogen is her mother."

Kristen's eyes went wide, "Imogen? Your half-sister Imogen?"

"First off, I don't like the term half sibling, she's my sister. And yeah, Imogen's her mother."

"Care to elaborate?" she requested, a very uneasy feeling in her stomach.

Dean wanted to take pleasure in her disgust, but he couldn't because of the words he was going to have to speak. He was going to have to admit the thing that he hated the most, "She's not actually my daughter. Not biologically anyways."

"Thank God," Kristen breathed and then realized how what she said might have sounded, "I didn't mean- I mean, I didn't," she stuttered out.

"I get it," he nodded, "You're glad I didn't have a baby with my sister."

Kristen nodded, awkwardness settling between them.

"Problem is I don't know how to tell Axel that without her hating me even more than she already does."

"If you raised her right, and I spent the last few years with her so I know you did, then she's gotta know that family isn't always who you think it is. It isn't who created you. It's who you can count on."

"She does know that. Problem is that I haven't been the most reliable dad these last couple of years," Dean sighed, "I'm gonna go see about getting my car fixed while she cools off. Please don't tell her anything."

"You know I won't," she agreed.


	35. Chapter Thirty-Four

Axel didn't waste a second once she knew that Dean had left. She'd heard the Impala start up and drive away, but Kristen was still in the house. She had come to Axel's door wanting to talk, but Axel was pissed at her too and ignored her. Now that she knew Dean wasn't still standing in the front yard she patted her dog on the head and then slipped out of her bedroom window and was across the street and inside of Emily's house just a few moments later. She didn't bother knocking, Emily would be the only one home anyway.

"Em!" Axel hollered out, "Em, I need to talk to you."

A second later Emily was standing next to her friend, "What's wrong?" she asked.

Axel wanted to speak, she wanted to tell Emily everything, the problem was that she didn't know anything and instead of words coming out of her mouth all that she could do was cry. Emily pulled her over to the couch and wrapped her arms around her friend and just let her cry.

"I'm sorry," Axel said, blowing her nose forty-five minutes later when she finally managed to calm down enough to form actual words, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Emily smiled weakly at her, "I'm your friend. If you can't sob hysterically on my shoulder than who the hells can you?"

Axel swallowed, "That car, the one whose window I smashed, that's my dad's car. My dad is here."

"Your dad?" Emily repeated, "The one who just dumped you here? You haven't seen him in what, like four years? What the hell is he doing here?"

Axel cleared her throat, "I don't know. I guess to tell me that Kristen's not really my mom."

Emily's jaw dropped, "She's not? Well who is she then?"

"I don't know," her voice broke, "Some random lady? My dad's old girlfriend? I don't know who the hell she is, but she's been pretending to be my mom for four years. And now," she stopped and shook her head, "Now…"

"Now what?"

"Now he's taking me home with him, back to Kansas. I don't want to go back to Kansas."

"Kristen won't let you stay?"

"Even if she would let me my dad won't," she coughed and shook her head, "I wondered for years before I got here who my mom was and where she was and then I got here and Kristen was everything and more that I wanted in a mom. She was my best friend and I thought," she took a deep breath trying not to cry anymore, "I thought she loved me."

"She does love you," Emily argued, "She loves you, I know it."

Axel wiped her eyes, "If she loved me she wouldn't have lied to me," she scoffed and shook her head, "You don't lie to people you love, you tell them the truth."

"Sometimes it's hard," Emily looked away from her friend.

"Even if it's hard you still do it if you love someone. Why the hell are you defending her?"

"I… I'm not… I just… I don't know why she lied to you," Emily began, "But she wouldn't have given you her time and money and let you keep that dog if she didn't love you… Maybe she took you in not loving you, but I know that she loves you now."

"Then why is she letting me leave?"

"Dean's your dad, maybe she doesn't have a choice."

Axel took a deep breath, "I still don't know who my mother is," she paused and leaned back against the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, "I'm not even sure that I want to know…. I don't want anyone except Kristen to be my mom. Why the hell isn't she my mom?"

"I'm so sorry, Axe," Emily said, locking eyes with her friend and taking her hand, "I'm sorry you're dealing with all of this and I really, really hate that you're leaving," now Emily's voice broke and before she realized what she was doing she was leaning in and kissing her best friend.

Axel waited until Emily broke the kiss before she dared move a muscle.

"I'm sorry," Emily stammered out, obviously horrified with her own actions, "I shouldn't have… I know you're not gay..."

Axel took a deep breath and grabbed her phone to check the time and ease some of the tension in the room, "I'm gonna go up to the school, I wanna make sure that I'm there in time for the meet."

Emily nodded and stood up, helping her friend to her feet, "I'll be there later, to watch you win. Me and Dudley both."

"I know you will," Axel said with a smile and a nod, "Please don't tell Dudley about my dad or any of this, I think he should hear it from me."

"You got it," she paused and bit her lip.

Axel started to head for the door, but something told her that her friend wasn't done talking.

"I know you probably don't feel the same," Emily took her friend's hand once again and met her gaze, "But I think you should know before you leave, that I'm in love with you. I have been for a while, and like you said people who love you don't lie to you, and I've felt this way for a long time and I've been too afraid to tell you."

Axel opened her mouth to speak but Emily silenced her.

"Don't say it… Whether you feel the same way or not, you're leaving, and if you tell me that you don't feel the same way then I'm going to be crushed, but if you do feel the same then …. Then I'm still gonna be crushed and pissed off at myself for not telling you sooner."

"Okay," Axel agreed with a slow nod, "I'll see you at the meet then."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Then Axel did head out of the house and walked the two blocks to the school. It was about an hour or so before any of the other members of the team would be showing up, but her coach was standing alone at the track obviously getting things set up so she went over to him.

"Coach," Axel called out, approaching the man.

"Axel," he checked his watch, "Why are you here so early?"

"I'm excited," she said with a shrug, "Looks like this is probably gonna be my last race."

"Why?"

She hesitated only slightly. She hated the thought, but it was the truth and she was going to have to accept it sooner or later, "I'm leaving school."

"You pregnant?" he questioned, looking up from his clipboard, "Was it that scrawny Dudley kid?"

A small chuckle escaped Axel but she shook her head, "No, I'm just moving out of state."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he frowned, "You're basically the only one who gives a damn about running track here. Think you'll try out when you start your new school?"

"I honestly don't know," she admitted, "Maybe. To be honest, I don't even know if it'll be an option."

"Well, if you need a letter of recommendation shoot me an email when you get where you're going and let me know where to send it."

"Thanks. I really appreciate that."

"You earned it kid. You gonna give it your all tonight? I know you can win."

"I'll surely do my best," she looked down the track, this would be the last time she was here, "Anything that I can do to help set up or whatever?"

"Sure," he nodded and motioned for her to follow him.

The sound of Bubble crying on the inside of Axel's bedroom three hours after the big blow up is what finally got Kristen to find the key to the door and open it up, only to find that Axel wasn't inside but the window was open. She sighed softly and shook her head. Kristen knew that she would be back, but if Dean found out she took off he was going to have a fit.

Kristen gently patted Bubble's head and let her out of the bedroom and walked into the living room where she sat on the couch and sent Axel a text asking where she was before calling Sam. She needed to get this phone call out of the way before Dean got back. Sam answered on the second ring.

"How's it going?" he asked, his voice strained.

He's taking her, Dean's taking Axel and she's pissed and hurt and now she knows that I'm not her mom and she's going to hate me," Kristen hadn't realized just how worked up she was until that moment.

"Hey, hey," Sam said gently, "Slow down. Calm down. Whatever it is it's going to be okay."

"No, it's not going to be okay," she insisted, "It's never going to be okay. I love Axel so much and I want her to stay with me. I don't want Dean to take her and leave. She's happy here, I'm happy with her, Sam. She's my daughter, she's just as much my daughter as she is Dean's…."

"I'm so sorry Kris… I wish I had known that he was coming up there."

"She doesn't even want to go with him! She wants to stay here, she likes it here. She told Dean she wants to stay with me and he doesn't care," she took a deep breath and shook her head, "I mean, at least she did want to stay before she found out that I wasn't really her mom and I'd been lying to her all along," before Sam had a chance to reply she heard the Impala pulling back up into the driveway, "I gotta go, Sammy. Dean's back and Axel's not here so I'm sure he's about to be throwing a fit."

"Okay, call me if you need to talk or whatever."

"Will do," she said, hanging the phone up and taking deep breath as Dean was walking into the house, "Did you get the windshield fixed?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "Thanks for the recommendation for the repair guy."

"Once when Axel was driving and a hawk dive bombed the windshield and it shattered, the guy's the best."

Dean nodded, "Has she come out of her room?" he asked, looking at the dog who was standing protectively in front of Kristen.

"She went to see a friend. I'm sure that she'll be back soon."

Dean frowned, "Well, I guess that we can start packing up her stuff and getting it ready to go."

Kristen nodded, "Okay," she followed him into the bedroom and stated to empty the dresser drawers into a suitcase when her phone started to ring, it was Axel's number so Kristen answered, "Hey."

"Hey," the girl's voice was strained, "I wanted to let you know that I'm at the school for my meet tonight. I'll come home right after, don't tell my dad, okay? I don't want him ruining it for me. It's my last time."

"Okay," she sighed, "I'll see you in a little bit. Good luck," then she hung up the phone and looked at Dean, "That was Axel. She'll be home in an hour or two."

Dean nodded, "Where is she?"

"With a friend. They're saying goodbye."

Dean didn't say anything else, simply went to work packing things up.

Walking home after the meet was hell. Emily was standing on one side of her and Dudley on the other. She and Emily knew, but Dudley still didn't, and the idea of telling him was killing Axel. When they turned the corner and got on Axel and Emily's street Axel stopped in her tracks and so did the other two.

"Hey, Milk Dud," Axel looked at her friend and sighed, "I've got something to tell you."

Dudley looked her up and down, the tone in his friend's voice quite unsetting, "You're scaring me," he stated, looking to Emily and then back to Axel, "What's going on?"

"I'm moving," Axel stated blandly, "I'm moving to Kansas."

"Wait," Dudley frowned, "You're what?"

Emily sighed softly, she couldn't stand to hear it again, "I need to get home," she looked at her friend, "Don't leave before saying goodbye."

Axel nodded, "Okay."

Dudley waited until Emily was gone before looking back to Axel, "You can't leave."

"I don't want to," she took a deep breath, "I don't have a choice. My dad said."

"Who does he think he is? God?"

"Apparently," Axel muttered unhappily.

"Well what about your mom? Doesn't she want you to stay?"

"She says that she does… But it turns out that she's not actually my mom. She just some lady that's been taking care of me."

"So why don't you just come and stay with me?" Dudley offered excitedly, "Hell, my mom's never home and even when she is she's too messed up to notice that you are there anyway."

Axel hugged her friend tightly, "You know that I love you, right?"

"I love you too… You have no idea how damn glad I am that Emily accosted you the first day you were at school. If we hadn't met you our lives would be a hell of a lot more boring."

"Don't I know it," she smiled and looked at her friend, "You know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"You know that Emily has a thing for me."

He sighed, "I wouldn't call it a thing… More like she's been carrying a torch for you since we met."

"I mean, I knew that she way gay… But I had no idea that she felt that way about me."

"Did she tell you?"

Axel nodded, "Yeah, she told me… Then told me not to respond, because either way she wasn't going to like the answer."

"Do you feel the same way?" Dudley asked, "About Emily…"

Axel took a deep breath, "She's my best friend, and so are you," she paused, "Can you spend the night? I mean, my dad would hate it but he doesn't have to know."

"Sure," Dudley nodded, "I'll hang out with Emily and you can just text me when you want me to sneak in the window."

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, walking the rest of the way home with him before parting ways and heading to her own house where Bubble happily greeted her at the door.


	36. Chapter Thirty-Five

Dean and Kristen were in the living room together, both sipping on a glass of wine, when Axel made her way back into the house. She wanted to creep back to her room, undetected by either parent, but the second that the front door opened Bubble was bounding through the house towards her, obviously blowing her cover as Dean called her into the living room, she reluctantly obeyed, Bubble at her heels.

"Where were you?" he father asked calmly, but Axel couldn't help but to cop an attitude.

"I had a school thing," she barked, letting her hand lightly scratch the top of Bubble's head, "Figured I might as well enjoy my last night of happiness before you make me leave."

Dean frowned, "Last night of happiness? You really think that this is the last time that you're ever going to be happy? You really don't think that is at all dramatic?"

She rolled her eyes, "I guess we will see. I'm going to my room. I'm tired and I guess I should start packing."

Dean sighed, "We made dinner, and bought an ice cream cake for your birthday. Don't you want to celebrate?"

"No," she stated, "I'm really not in the celebrating mood. Can I go?"

"Wait," Kristen stood up and walked over to Axel, "How'd the competition go?"

"It was fine," she said curtly, "Nothing noteworthy."

"Okay," Kristen nodded, "I started putting your clothes into a suitcase."

"Great. See you guys in the morning," she grunted out, patting her leg so that Bubble would follow her back to her bedroom, locking the door behind her and sending Dudley a text, asking him to come over.

Dean watched his daughter as she walked out of the room, wanting more than anything to follow after her, wanting for the last four years to not have happened… For her to still be the little girl that he'd left here and not the angry and broken young woman that was in her place, the one that Dean had created.

Kristen put a hand on his shoulder and met his eye, "It's going to be okay," she assured him, though she wasn't sure of that herself, "Axel, she's one tough cookie. She'll bounce back in no time, just so long as she's got someone backing her up. As long as she's got you."

"She does," Dean nodded slowly, "She's always got me."

"Good. Because she's going to need you now more than ever, but it's not going to be easy," she paused, "And Dean, I know you're not the biggest fan of dogs, but you've gotta let her take Bubble," he started to object but she held up a hand to silence him, "I want to make this perfectly clear for you, if you make her leave behind everything AND the dog that she loves so damn much she's NEVER going to forgive you," she locked eyes with the aging hunter, "Never."

Dean took a deep breath but nodded his head, Kristen was absolutely right, "I guess it's the least that I can do after… Well, after anything."

Kristen nodded, "You're right. It is the LEAST that you can do," she headed into the kitchen and started putting away the food that was going to go uneaten, "There's pillows and blankets in the hall closet," she said to him, "The couch is pretty comfy."

"You want me to sleep on the couch?" he asked, sounding quite offended.

"What? You got a motel or something."

"No."

"I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Axel's not going to let you sleep in bed with her."

"Well no, but I thought…" he trailed off, no meeting her eyes.

Kristen actually laughed out loud, "You're kidding me, right?" she asked, "You think you can just waltz into town unannounced and take my kid away from me and I'm just gonna invite you into my bed for a quickie before you take off again?" she shook her head, "These days I've got more respect for myself than that, Dean."

"What?" he asked, "You got a boyfriend or something?"

She rolled her eyes, "I waited around for you for years Dean, before you dropped Axel with me, and then after I really thought that you and I would be together… Raise her together, but you broke my heart over and over again, you really did. Gave me all this false hope and left me holding the bag. I'm not going to let you drag me down again, I'm not going to spend my life waiting for you," she took a deep breath, "So you can sleep on the couch or you can go get a motel room. Either way, sleep well," she threw a dish into the sink and stalked off to her own bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind her, just to make sure that he didn't get any ideas.

Axel had her stereo on, not too loud, just loud enough so that she wouldn't hear what was going on outside of her room and the adults wouldn't her what was going on inside of her room as Dudley climbed in the window and joined her in the packing.

"This really sucks," he kept his voice low, just to be on the safe said, "What the hell are Emily and I going to do without you?"

A sad chuckle escaped Axel, "You guys will be fine. You'll find another loser to pull into your inner circle. It's me that's going to have to figure out what I'm going to do with my life and with my time now that I've got no friends," she sighed, "I can't even imagine starting a new school where I don't know anyone."

"Won't you be going back to your old school in Kansas?" he asked, "What about all the people that you knew before?"

She shrugged, "They've probably long forgotten me, and even if they haven't it's been so long since I saw any of them it's not like we're going to have anything in common anyway. Maybe I'll drop out, get my GED or something."

"Hell no," Dudley barked, "You've got 4.4 GPA, you're the smartest person that I know. You only take honors courses, you could have your PICK of colleges. You can't quit school, you just can't."

Axel lay her head on his shoulder, "I wish that I could stay here."

He wrapped his arm around her protectively, "We'll text and call all the time," he promised, "Write letters even… Where do you buy stamps?"

She smiled weakly, "Thanks Milk Dud."

"You can visit too, I bet your mom … Er, Kristen would let you," he paused, "Are we still calling her your mom? I'm sorry, I don't want to be insensitive."

"You're fine," Axel laid back on her bed, "Call her whatever…. She's the only mom that I've ever had."

"Think your dad will tell you who your real mom is?"

"No idea. Not sure that I would even believe him if he did. I mean, he lied to me once already. What's to say that he wouldn't do it again?"

"You got a point, sister."

"How's Emily?" she asked, "Is she okay with everything?"

He shook his head, "Hell no. She was crying her eyes out, she is going to miss the hell out of you. So am I."

"Should we go back over there? All three of us should spend my last night here together."

"She's asleep," he explained, "She passed out. Otherwise I would have brought her with me."

Axel nodded and closed her eyes, grabbing the hand of one of her best friends, "Don't leave, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Axel."

The two fell asleep side by side. It was nothing that they hadn't done before, Emily usually being there with them, but it wasn't the first time that it had just been the two of them. It was innocent, completely innocent. There was nothing romantic between the two, not now and never before. And there never would be, because there was nothing but platonic feelings between the two. However that didn't stop Dean's mind from running wild the next morning when a barely awake Dudley came walking out of the formerly locked bedroom door and heading into the bathroom. Dean himself had barely woken up, he was sitting on the couch with a piping hot cup of coffee that Kristen had just made him in his hand, which immediately dropped from his hand and burned his bare feet, but he didn't notice that as he was across the room in an instant banging loudly on the bathroom door.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean hollered, his fists pounding loudly against the wood of the door, "Get the hell out here and face me like a man!" luckily, Dudley was smart enough to ignore that request.

"Dean!" Kristen yelled, pushing him away from the door, "What the hell is the matter with you?"

Axel stumbled out of her own room, wiping the sleep from her eyes, but she was mostly awake, "Who the hell are you screaming at?" she demanded.

"Who is that guy who just came out of your bedroom? Did he spend the night?" Dean demanded.

Axel blinked slowly, "Dudley?"

"Is that his name?" Dean demanded then looked to Kristen, "How the hell could you let her have a guy over?"

"Damn Dean, it's just Dudley," Kristen defended herself, "That's her best friend."

"So you let her have little sex sleepovers?"

Kristen scoffed, "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," she paused, "They're friends."

In Axel's sleep riddled brain a half-baked idea came to mind, "We're not friends," she said with a yawn and a shrug.

Both Kristen and Dean turned to look at her, waiting for her to continue and Dudley's voice came from behind the still locked door, "We're not?"

Axel yawned again, "No, I mean we're not just friend. Milk Dud's my boyfriend. He has been for what… About a year now, right Dud?"

He hesitated before going along with her lie, knowing she must have a pretty good reason, "Yeah, a year next month."

"So yeah, we're sleeping together," she said, looking unashamed at both of her parents, but feeling guilty knowing that Dudley was likely metaphorically shitting his pants on the other side of the door.

"I'll kill him," Dean stated, turning to attack the door some more, but Axel grabbed him by the arm and turned him back around.

"Why?" she demanded angrily, "Why kill him? I love him, it's not like he's thirty years old and forcing me to sleep with him. We're the same age, and like I said we've been together for almost a year."

Dean was at loss for words.

"Besides, you're taking me away from him, forcing me to go back to Kansas, so what's killing him going to accomplish that you're not already going to accomplish by taking me across the continent?"

Still he couldn't think of anything to say. It's a very uncomfortable moment when your teenage child is making more sense than the parent.

"Milk Dud, come on out. Go get Emily, so that we can all say goodbye."

"I'm gonna go out the window," Dudley squeaked out.

"Just come out the door, boy," Dean barked, "I'm not gonna touch you."

There were several moments of silence before the lock clicked and Dudley walked out, quickly grabbing his shoes from Axel's room and getting the hell out of that house. He did not want to be around for anything else, and he had no idea what Axel's endgame was.

"You guys are together?" Kristen asked, looking extremely hurt, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Axel almost admitted to the lie right then and there, she hated the fact that she had hurt this woman. The one that she'd wanted to hurt was Dean, but then a cruel thought entered her mind and she couldn't stop it from rolling off of her tongue, "I don't think that my secret was anywhere near as big as yours," she watched as Kristen face fell even further.

Dean frowned, "Why would you say that to her? She's been nothing but good to you. She loves you."

"Then she shouldn't have lied to me," she met Dean's eye, "And neither should you. But hey, I'll know in the future that you just introduce me to random women and call them my mother, so I'll never know for sure who she is."

"Quit being so dramatic," Dean barked, "Act like a damn adult."

"I will as soon as you do," she bit back angrily, "Sorry for the attitude, must be these pregnancy hormones. I'm having a hard time controlling them."

Dean blinked slowly, "What?" his voice was strained and he turned to Kristen who looked just as shocked as he felt, but Kristen was looking right at Axel now.

"You're pregnant?" her voice broke, she wanted to cry.

"How the hell could you let this happen?" Dean demanded.

Now Kristen looked to him, "How could I let this happen? You're kidding me, right?"

"No I'm not kidding," he shook his head, "You were supposed to be taking care of her, not letting her run around the town and get knocked up. Jesus Christ, it's like Bobby all over again."

Kristen shook her head and looked back to Axel, "Why didn't you tell me, about you and Dudley?"

Axel shrugged, "I don't know," she muttered.

"Well, you're not having a baby," Dean insisted, "This isn't happening," he stated firmly.

"Shut up, Dean. You're not going to try that shit on her the way you did your sister. It's her body and it's her choice," Kristen defended.

Axel's eyes went wide as she looked between the adults, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Dean insisted.

"You dad tried to force his sister to have an abortion when she was your age. She didn't have one, Axel. It's your choice."

"No!" Dean barked, "It's not! She's sixteen! She doesn't get a choice!"

"Yes she does!" Kristen yelled back at him.

Axel knew that this was going to escalate, and for nothing, so she had to put a stop to it, "Shut up!" she screamed at them, "I'm not pregnant. Jesus Christ, I just said that to piss you both off," she stomped back to her room and slammed the door behind him, locking it, and throwing herself down on the bed and burying her face into her pillow.

Dean shook his head, "What the hell did you do to my kid?"

"What did I do?" Kristen's eyes were wide, "I was here for her, every single day of the last four years. If you want to blame someone then you need to look in a damn mirror. It's not me that she's pissed off at."

"You turned her against me," the man insisted, "You must have told her awful things about me, that's why she hates me so much."

"No, Dean," she growled, "The reason she's pissed at you is because you lied to her and let her down over and over again, and here you are pretending like the last four years didn't happen."

"Well, I'm here now and it's obvious to me that you ruined my baby girl."

"Get out," Kristen snarled, pointing to the front door, "Get the hell out of my house."

Dean scoffed, "I'm not going anywhere. Not until Axel's in the car and we're on the way home."

"Get out of my house."

"No."

Then Kristen pushed him against the wall, "I can't make you leave here without her, but I sure the hell can make you wait outside until she's ready to go," she took her hands off of him and pointed back to the door, "Now get the hell out."

Without another word Dean shook his head and walked out of the door.


	37. Chapter Thirty-Six

There was a knock on Axel's bedroom door, she screamed at whoever it was to go away, but of course they didn't listen and kept knocking. So she got off of the bed and stomped to the door, throwing it open, tears still streaming down her face, but when it was her two best friends on the other side of it and they were all standing in the doorway holding onto each other, and for the first time since Dean showed up Axel felt okay.

Not like okay in the sense that everything was going to go back to normal, but okay in the sense that she had these two amazing friends who were going to miss her and weren't going to be the same once she left. She wasn't going to be the same either, that was absolutely certain. So the three of them sat and they talked for a long time, pretending that nothing was different than it was two days ago, and that's what Axel needed.

It wasn't long until Kristen stuck her head in the door, "Hey kiddo," she smiled, "Are y'all hungry?"

"No,' Axel shook her head and looked to her friends, "I think this is goodbye," she said, "Might as well get on the road. Sooner I do that the sooner I'll get back to Kansas."

Kristen sighed softly, "I'll come see you," she told Axel, "If you want me too… Emily, Dudley, you guys can come too if you want," she looked at Axel, "If that's what you want."

"I would love that," Axel nodded and looked to her friends, "Do you guys mind if I spend a few minutes alone with my mom?"

The words hit Kristen like a ton of bricks, she was this girl's mom… Axel still thought of her as a mom. Dudley and Emily hugged Axel once more before leaving the house.

"Axel," Kristen sighed, "You have no idea how sorry I am that I lied to you. But Dean asked me to do this for him, and I loved you dad so much. I love you too, more than anything. And all blood aside, I still see you like a daughter. I would do anything for you."

"I know," she nodded, "And I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not mad that you lied to me, but I'm way more pissed that you're not really my mom… Because you're the best that I'm going to get."

Kristen wrapped her arms around the girl, "I wish you could stay here with me, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me," she kissed the top of her head and sighed, "Years ago when your dad and I broke up, before you were ever born, I was pregnant. I was going to have his baby, but before I could get a chance to tell him I had a miscarriage. I thought that the baby was going to be my way back to him because I loved him so damn much," she took a breath and a tear rolled down her cheek, "I didn't see him again until years later when he was on my doorstep, begging me to take you in. I didn't know why he needed you to stay here with me, I still don't know the full story, but I took you in without a second thought because I thought that you were going to be my way back to Dean, because I loved him so much," she shook her head, "But you were so much more than that, after the first week I knew that you were all that mattered. I can't even remember my life before you… I love you so much."

"I love you too," Axel agreed, "I don't know who my biological mom is, but you are my mom. I just want you to know that."

"Thank you for saying that," Kristen squeaked out, "This isn't the last you've seen of me, I promise. I'll come down to Kansas as often as I can and you're welcome here anytime. I'll pay to fly you here myself if I have to."

"I appreciate that," Axel smiled, and looked down as Bubble was rubbing up against her and she kneeled down to hug her dog, "You'll take care of Bubble, right? I know Dad's not going to let me take her."

"That's where you're wrong," Kristen explained, "He'll let you take her, I talked him into it. You're already losing everything here, you're not losing the dog that you saved."

"What about you?" Axel asked, "Won't you miss her?"

"Of course I will," she said, "But Bubble needs to be with you, you're her person."

"Thank you."

"Of course," she smiled, "Anyways, let me know what stuff you want back home in Kansas with you. I'll mail it to you."

"I'll make a list," Axel chuckled sadly, "Feel free to turn my room into an office or whatever. I don't mind."

Kristen smiled weakly, "Thanks kiddo. You got a suitcase for the road?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"I'll start mailing some of your stuff tomorrow, it'll probably get to your dad's post office box before you even get home. Just let me know the things you want most."

"Will do," she nodded and grabbed the dog leash and her suit case and Kristen grabbed the bag of dog food and they carried the things out to the Impala together. Dean was leaning up against the car doing something on his phone, he had just woken up from a restless nap on the back seat, but when he saw them coming he opened up the trunk of the car and loaded up the suitcase and the dog food.

"Ready to go?" he asked his daughter.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Axel sighed and turned back to Kristen, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Kristen hugged her again, "Let me know you guys are safe."

"I'll text you nonstop," Axel assured her and opened the back door to the impala so that Bubble could jump into the car, "Tell you what, I'm not looking forward to the hot ass summers south of here."

"Can't say that I blame you," Kristen agreed.

Dean laughed softly, "Thanks for taking care of her," Dean said to Kristen, laying a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "Don't know what I would have done without you."

"It was my pleasure," she nodded, "You two be careful."

"We will," Dean assured her and nodded at Kristen before walking back around to get in behind the wheel, waiting for Axel to get in so that they could leave.

Axel sighed, "See you soon, Mom."

"See you soon," she agreed, "I'll come down there for Thanksgiving, or I'll fly you up here. Whatever you want."

"I hope so," she smiled, "I don't want what my dad did all over again."

"No chance in hell," Kristen smiled, "Now go, before I start crying."

Axel nodded and got into the front passengers seat of the car, reaching her hand up to pet her dog who was now licking her in the face, and looking in the side mirror at Kristen until they were too far away to see her anymore.

"Are you hungry?" Dean asked, "We'll probably drive through the night tonight and pull over tomorrow afternoon and get some sleep. Take it easy the rest of the way home, it's been a while since we've really talked. Thought this could be a bonding trip for us."

"Sure, whatever," Axel grumbled, taking her headphones out of her bag, plugging them into her phone, and turning her music on so that she wouldn't have to hear anything he said. She faded in and out of sleep for a while, only to be woken up by her dog licking her in the face yet again. She opened her eyes and the Impala was parked at a rest stop, but Dean wasn't in the car. Axel hooked Bubble to her leash and the two got out of the car together and walked around for a little while so the dog could relive herself, which she did immediately. Axel put Bubble back in the car and then found the bathroom for herself, she was about to burst.

After doing her business and walking out of the bathroom Axel checked her phone and saw that she had a missed call from Sam, so she called him. It rang twice before he answered.

"Hey kiddo."

"Hey Uncle Sam."

"How are you doing?"

"Could be worse," she sighed, "Guess I'll be seeing you soon."

"Yeah, sorry kiddo. Wish that Dean had told me ahead of time. I would have come up there with him or at least called and let you know that he was on his way. But I had no idea that he was coming to get you, and if I had to guess I'd say he probably didn't know either. He loves you, Axe. He's really missed you."

Axel rolled her eyes, "I gotta go Sam. Will I see you when I get home?"

"Yeah, I should be home by then. I'm in Texas with Azzy and Olivia, but I'll make it home soon."

"Okay, bye," she said, hanging up the phone quickly when she saw Dean heading her way.

"Hey, sorry for just leaving you in the car like that. You seemed to be sleeping pretty well. I tried to get your dog to walk around with me, but she wasn't leaving your side for anything."

Axel nodded, "No worries."

"You hungry?" Dean asked, "We can find some place and pull over and get a meal or something."

Axel shook her head, "I don't want to leave Bubble in the car by herself while we do that. Let's just go through a drive through or something."

Dean nodded, "Sounds good. You ready to go?"

"Sure," Axel said, heading back to the car and climbing inside of it.

Dean got in and started driving, the sun was high in the sky, they still had a long drive ahead of them, "So, who was that on the phone? Your boyfriend?"

If Axel's eyes could have rolled out of her head they would have, "No, it was Sam."

"Oh? What'd he want?"

"He wanted to know why you lied to me about who my mother was and why the hell you just showed up here without so much as a call first."

"Really?" Dean scoffed, "Sam wanted to know those things?"

She shook her head, "Well, I'm pretty sure that he already knows the first part of that, but the second part yeah, he does actually want to know that."

Dean sighed, "Well, I didn't call first because it seemed like every time I would call you to let you know that I was coming up to see you that something would happen and I wouldn't end up coming. Figured if I called this time same thing would happen."

"Great, thanks for the info," she muttered.

"And I lied to you about your mom because if I told you the truth about who she was then I would have to tell you the truth about everything else. I had some things I needed to do, I had to keep you safe," he paused, "But that doesn't matter to you, what matters to you is you felt like your dad abandoned you with someone you didn't know, someone you had never met, and didn't bother to visit even once."

"Sam visited," she barked, "Once a year, he came and saw me. If someone who isn't my dad wasn't too busy than someone who was my dad should have made the time."

"I'm sorry," he breathed, not taking his eyes off the road as the impala flew down the highway, "I know you don't think I am, but I'm sorry. I wish that things had gone differently, I really do. But we are where we are and I can't change the past, all I can do is apologize and move forward."

"So you're telling me that you're sorry for abandoning me?" she demanded, "For leaving me with some woman I had never met and lying to me about who she was? You're saying if you could change it you wouldn't have left me there?"

"No," Dean shook his head, "I'm not sorry for keeping you safe, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am sorry for lying to you and for making you feel the way that you felt, that I would change if I could. I want you to know that I did what I thought was best for you. You were just a kid, you wanted a mom, and I was trying to give you what you wanted."

"You know those nightmares I used to have when I was a kid?" she didn't wait for him to respond, "When you left they got so much worse. Every single night without fail they tortured me, to a point where I was terrified to go to sleep. Always the same thing, you being ripped to pieces, murdered right in front of me, but it was always me doing the murdering. It took me a long time to realize that. Someone whispering to me to kill, me doing it, and then going to them. Whoever it is, I don't know. I could feel your blood splatter my face, warm and wet. It felt so goddamn real," she took a breath, "At least when I was a kid I would wake up and you would be asleep right beside me so I knew you were okay. But all of a sudden you were gone and it got a lot harder to tell reality apart from the crazy crap running around in my head."

"I didn't know," he said softly, staring out at the road.

"Of course you didn't. You didn't care."

"Of course I cared," Dean argued, "You don't understand what I was going through."

"Likewise, Dad. I hardly got any sleep for weeks, because I didn't want the dreams to come back. Just told Kristen I couldn't sleep, so she got me some sleeping pills. That did the trick, for the most part anyways. Either I didn't have the dreams or I couldn't remember them. Occasionally they still came back, but it was better than not sleeping at all."

Dean sighed, but didn't say anything, there was nothing he could say or do to make this better.

"Should I even bother asking?"

"Asking what?"

"Who my real mother is? I mean, are you even going to tell me or are you just going to lie to me again?"

Dean took a deep breath, "No, I'm going to tell you the truth this time. I'm going to tell you who your mother is, but there's a lot more that you have to know before I tell you the truth. A lot of it's probably going to piss you off, but I hope that by the end of it you understand why I did what I did."


	38. Chapter Thirty-Seven

"I've told you about my sister Imogen, right?" Dean began, glancing briefly to his daughter before locking his eyes back on the road the two were travelling down.

"Not much," Axel grunted, "You flipped out when I saw a picture of her and according to Kristen you tried to make her have an abortion when she was my age."

"Okay, true," Dean nodded, "Sam, Imogen, and I all have the same father, but she has a different mother and we didn't know we had a little sister until her mother called us to work a case in her area. Things got a little messy on the hunt and her mother didn't make it so Sammy and I promised to take care of her, and we did. We raised her."

"Okay," Axel shrugged, "What's this got to do with my mother?"

Dean took a deep breath, "Because Imogen is your mother."

Confused would have been a massive understatement for what Axel was feeling right now. Confused, scared, disgusted, there's no one word to sum up how she felt in that moment, but for a split second she was convinced that she was going to die.

"So," she swallowed hard, "That's why you wanted her to have an abortion? Because you were having a baby with your teenage sister?" every word felt like she was being stabbed in the gut. Her father was a sick bastard, having a baby with his kid sister.

Dean shook his head violently, "No, Axel. It wasn't you that I wanted her to have an abortion with. It was… well, I guess he was your older brother. But like I told you before, he died when he was a baby."

Axel shook her head, looking out the window, doing everything in her power not to vomit, "So you had two babies with your sister?"

"Jesus Christ," Dean breathed, "No, I didn't have two babies with my sister."

"So just me then?"

"Oh my god," his grip tightened on the steering wheel. Why was he dragging this out? Why didn't he say it from the beginning? "Axel, you are not biologically my daughter," oh yeah, because he wanted it not to be true, he wanted to be her biological father more than anything in the entire world.

Those words should have made her feel better, they should have filled her with joy knowing that the man she loved with all her heart wasn't some sick creep that had impregnated his sister, but instead it hurt ten times worse. The one thing that Axel had known with absolute certainty her entire life, that she was Dean Winchester's daughter, was a lie, and now she had absolutely no idea who she was. She didn't know her mother, she didn't know her father, and she didn't know anything anymore.

"Axel?" Dean asked, glancing at her and then back to the road, "Say something."

"P-pull the car over," she stuttered out, he hands shaking as she searched for the door handle.

And though his first instinct was to yell no at her he found himself pulling onto the side of the highway and watching his daughter get out and stumble away from the road and sit down in a grassy area with her head in her hands. He knew that news was going to hurt her, it had hurt him since the day that she was born, that he knew he would never be able to fully claim her a his own. She would never really be his daughter.

Dean waited a few minutes before shutting the Impala off and getting out, walking over and sitting down beside her, grunting softly as sitting on the hard dirt wasn't as easy as it used to be, "Axel, I'm so sorry that I lied to you. But I have always thought of you as my daughter, always. I never thought of you as my niece, which you technically are I guess," he took a breath, "It didn't feel like lying. I took care of you from the day you were born, you have always been mine. I understand that you are probably pretty mad at me and that you more than likely hate me, but I'm still your dad. I'm still the one who took care of you and loved you all these years."

Axel took a deep breath, "Who is he?" she asked, "Who's my real-" she stopped herself, "I mean my biological dad, who is he?"

"Someone who really hurt my sister, left before you were born, and never once tried to get in touch with me while I was the one raising you," he shook his head, "He was my best friend for a long damn time, but then he knocked my sister up and I didn't hear from him again until he wanted my help with something, twelve years later."

She scoffed, "So you left me because this guy wanted something from you?"

"It wasn't like that," he stated but shook his head, "Okay, I guess it was like that."

"You said your sister died, right?"

"Yes," Dean nodded, "She died giving birth to you."

"So it's my fault."

"No," Dean shook his head, "It's not your fault."

"Well, obviously it is if she died giving birth to me."

"She knew that having you was going to kill her, but she loved you so much that she went through with having you anyways."

Axel sighed and looked down, "What the hell was so important that you couldn't come and see me for four years?"

"My sister, your mother. Sam and I, we got her back. That's what your biological father came to ask us, to help get her back."

Axel's eyes went wide, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dean shook his head, "It's complicated… But death doesn't always mean death… I've died tons of times, so has Sam."

"Jesus," she breathed out, "So you got her back?"

Dean nodded, "She's at the bunker. She's been asking to meet you for years."

"Years? You've had her for years and you're just now coming from me?"

"I wanted to make sure things were safe… Imogen was gone for a long time, I had to make sure that she was okay before I introduced you two."

"What about my biological father?" she asked, "Who is he?"

Dean took a deep breath, "His name is Castiel. You met him once. I lied and told you that he was a dream."

Axel's eyes went wide, it hadn't once occurred to her that Castiel was anything to her. She knew that he existed, she knew that from the Carver Edlund book she'd first found at a resale book shop, and then all the subsequent novels that she had found online and read like crazy. None of them had once spoken of the female Winchester, but it had mentioned Castiel over and over again.

"You there?"

"Castiel?" she repeated, "The angel?"

"How'd you know that he's an angel?" Dean asked, "I never told you that."

"No," Axel shook her head, "You didn't."

"Did Sam say something? Kris?"

She shook her head again.

"Castiel, did he come to you? Say something to you?"

"Again, no."

"Then how'd you know?"

Axel slowly got up off the ground and walked back to the impala, popping the trunk and walking to the back of the car and pulling the beat up paperback out of her suitcase and handing it to Dean who had followed her over.

"What's this?" Dean asked, flipping through it before seeing his name and his brother's written over and over again in it, "Where did you get this?"

"Bookstore. Sam bought it for me."

Dean's eyes went wide, "He did what?"

"On our way up here, you were asleep in the motel room and Uncle Sam took me to a bookstore. I picked up the book because I liked that it was beat to hell… He didn't know what it was. I read it… Why wasn't your sister written in any of them?"

"How many did you read?"

"All the ones that I could find online."

"God dammit Chuck," he grumbled, "That's a little redundant."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Dean shook his head, "The writer, Chuck, he knew about our lives… We didn't know who he was for a long time, but Cas told us that he was a prophet and he saw flashes of our lives, unknowing of what they were, and just wrote books about them. He didn't write about Imogen because he thought it made me and Sam look too soft."

"So the things in those books, they're real?"

"Everything I've read has been real," he admitted, "Sammy and I have led a really weird life. And I'd be happy to answer your questions, but it's just going to confuse you more than likely."

Axel nodded slowly and got back into the Impala, Dean did too and started driving them again.

"How come you didn't tell me that you'd found that book?" he asked.

"You would have just gotten mad at me."

Dean sighed, knowing she was probably right.

"So I'm not human," the young girl stated.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, my biological father is an angel."

"Ah, well he was mostly human when he got my sister pregnant. So you're mostly human, with just a little speck of angel mixed in there, if I had to guess," he wasn't going to mention the dark stain on her soul, he saw no point in it. It would just worry her.

"Do they ask about me?" she wondered, "Castiel and Imogen?"

Dean took a deep breath, "What answer would hurt you less?"

"The honest one."

He nodded and kept his eyes on the road, biologically or not Axel was still his daughter and more than anything he wanted to protect her, "They both have," he admitted, "But I'd be lying if I said that I made it easy for them to get any information."

"How come?"

"Because I have this fear that they're going to want to take you from me and that you'll go. That you'll want your real parents, and that's why I won't tell them anything. That's why I've been hiding you from them. Hell, Cas once told me that he wished that he hadn't stepped aside, that he had been the one to raise you."

"Why didn't he?" she asked hesitantly.

"Imogen told him to leave and to never come back after she told him that she was pregnant with you."

"Why?"

Because," Dean started to tell her but stopped himself, "You should ask her that," he decided, "I think that she should be the one to tell you, "You guys have a lot of getting to know each other to do."

"Okay," she took a breath, "Was it because he didn't want me? Did Castiel want her to get rid of me?"

"No," Dean shook his head, "No, it wasn't anything like that. But I want you to know something, even if Imogen hadn't told him to leave he still wouldn't have been much of a father to you."

Axel scoffed, "You don't know that."

"I do," he chewed the inside of his cheek, "When Imogen told him that she was pregnant he ultimately wanted her to have you, but he also told her that he was busy. And he is, he's an angel of the Lord. He's constantly fighting one war or another against the powers that be."

Axel was silent.

"You read the Supernatural books, the ones written by Chuck."

She nodded.

"That man, the one who stuck beside me and Sammy through all the crap we went through, you can't honestly tell me that you think he would have been a better dad than me… I mean, I know that I wasn't the world's greatest dad or anything like that, but-" he would have kept on rambling if Axel hadn't cut him off.

"You're right, he wouldn't have been a great dad."

"You mom, my sister, she would have been a great mom, Castiel or not. She would have sacrificed anything for you, including her life- which I guess she did. But I'm really sorry that you missed out on having her as a mom all of these years."

"Well," Axel sighed, "The one that you set me up with wasn't all that bad," she fidgeted, "Am I supposed to call her Mom?"

Dean was silent for several moments, "I don't know."

"Can I still call you dad? Is that going to hurt her feelings?"

"I… don't know."

"Okay," Axel sighed, "Have you seen Claire lately or met the new baby? She sent me some picture of him, I guess he's not really a baby anymore, he's gotta be like three by now."

"No, I haven't," Dean sighed softly.

"How come?" she asked, "Weren't you supposed to be at their wedding? I mean, I know she wanted to postpone it until I could come, but it didn't look like that was ever going to happen," she paused, "Now that I think about it I haven't heard anything from her in months. She hasn't returned any of my calls or texts."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "She's been busy taking care of the kids. She's back living with Jody."

"Why?" Axel asked, "I thought she and-"

"Her fiancé died," Dean explained, "About a week before the wedding. Things got turned upside down on a hunt and he didn't make it out."

"Oh no," her stomach dropped, "What happened? Why didn't she tell me?"

Dean took a deep breath, "I don't think she wants much to do with the Winchesters anymore."

"What?"

"He was hunting with me and Sammy and Imogen and she was home with the kids. It was our fault that he didn't make it out," he kept his eyes fixated on the road, "I know I always said that I didn't like the guy, but I never wanted something like this to happen."

Axel was speechless, feeling a tear drop down her cheek.

Dean scoffed, "She told me that she never wanted me, or the likes of me, around her or her kids ever again. She's not wrong, being a Winchester is kind of a curse. We killed her Dad, her surrogate dad, and then her fiancé. I don't blame her for not wanting us around to take what little she has left."

The teen girl was shaken. Claire had been her friend as far back as she could remember, and now the woman wanted nothing to do with her all because of something Dean did. It felt like shit, "Wait," she finally spoke up, "You killed her father?"

"Yes," Dean nodded, "Well, technically Cas did I guess. Angels have to possess a human body or vessel or whatever you want to call it. Castiel is inside of her father, Jimmy Novak's, body. While Jimmy is dead and in Heaven with Claire's mom, his body is still out here walking around."

Axel scratched her head, "So Castiel is my biological father."

Dean nodded.

"And Castiel's body is Claire's father."

Dean cringed.

"So does that mean that Claire and I are…?

"I don't know," Dean groaned inwardly, "I tried to figure it out once, gave myself a headache."

"Does Claire know this?"

Dean nodded, "Her and Jody and Sam were the only people who knew the truth before all of it exploded."


	39. Chapter Thirty-Eight

The trip from where Axel was living in Alaska to where she used to live in Kansas was a long one that took about a week. It would have been a hell of a lot faster for Dean to have just bought Axel a plane ticket and picked her up at the nearest airport, but he wanted the ride home. He wanted to force her into the car and force her to talk to him, force her to let all the anger she had towards him out, and more than anything he wanted all of the time that he could get to be her only parent, because when they got back to Kansas she was going to have Imogen, her real mother.

There was yelling and crying and anger and fighting, and Dean knew there would be. He knew that this ride wasn't going to be all fun and games. He knew that and he was ready for it, but when he was finally pulling up to the bunker he realized just how exhausting the trip had been for him and it had been for Axel too, he was sure of that.

"We're home," Dean said, reaching over and gently nudging the sleeping girl. It was almost three in the morning, and they had been so close to home Dean hadn't wanted to stop for the night, so they drove through and now all he wanted to do was lay down and sleep, but he knew once he actually laid down he would be wide awake again.

Axel groaned and slowly sat up, Bubble resting her paws on the back of the front seat and licking Axel in the face. Gently Axel pushed her away, but gently patted her, "We're here?" she looked through the window into the garage of the bunker where she had been so many times in her life, but not once in the last four years.

"Yep. We should go and get some sleep."

Axel nodded slowly, "Is she here?"

"Who?" Dean asked dumbly before realizing what she had meant, "No, she's not. Neither is Sam. I asked them to clear out for a couple of days so we could get settled."

"Oh," Axel sighed, feeling a bit disappointed but also relieved at the same time, "Okay," she opened the door and got out of the Impala, Bubble hoping over the seat, not caring that she wacked Dean in the face with her tail, and jumped out the door. Axel smiled and patted her head, "I should probably take her out."

"I can do it," Dean offered, "You're exhausted."

"Thanks, but I'll do it. She's still not sure if she likes you or not."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Fine, but I'm coming with you."

Axel shrugged and headed through the familiar, but strangely foreign doors. She knew the way outside, she knew it like the back of her hand, but she felt like she shouldn't. This felt like a place she had never been before. Very little inside of the bunker had changed, she noted as she walked through and up the steps to the front door, which Dean unlocked and held open for her.

Bubble trotted off to go and do her doggy business and Dean stood beside his daughter as she stared off into the dark that her dog had disappeared in to. "So," Dean finally broke the silence, "You can sleep in our old room tonight," he began, "I'll crash in Sam's, it'll drive him crazy," he said with a grin, "Then tomorrow we can work on getting your old nursery cleaned up and get a bed or something in there. The stuff Kris mailed to you should be at the post office by now, so we can go and check that tomorrow," she didn't say anything, "If you want, you can sit out the rest of this semester and we can reenroll you in school in January."

"Okay," Axel sighed, "So where did Sam and your sister go?" she debated what to call the woman. Calling her by name seemed wrong and calling her Mom seemed even worse.

"On a hunt," Dean finally admitted, "There's a ghost a few states over."

"Do you guys hunt a lot?"

Dean froze.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, we've been hunting… And yes, I know that I was lying to you, and I'm sorry."

"So what about now?" she asked, "Are you guys going to keep hunting?"

"I'm not," Dean said a little too quickly before shaking his head, "I really don't know, kid. I don't think Sam's going to stop anytime soon," he took a deep breath, "And after being out of the game so long, and by the way I'm glad that I was, but being back just felt right. It was easy to stop when you were little and you needed me all of the time, but you don't need me anymore."

Axel scoffed and rolled her eyes, "So what you're going to run off and go hunting while I just sit here and go to school and wait for you to come back?"

"That's not what I said."

"Then what are you saying?" she demanded, "Because if you're just going to take off again why didn't you leave me with Kristen?"

"Because I missed you," he barked at her, "I missed you and I wanted you back and I couldn't wait any longer and your real mother wanted to meet you."

Axel just shook her head, "Bubble!" she called into the darkness and couldn't help but smile as the dog ran clumsily towards her, "Night," she muttered to her father as she stepped back inside of the bunker with her dog at her heels and down the hall into her and Dean's old room, locking the door, and flopping down on the bed. Bubble jumped right up there with her and rested her head on Axel's back.

The young girl slept long and hard and when she woke up her dog was whining and scratching at the door. She thought she was back home in Alaska, she thought that the whole trip with Dean had been a long, terrible nightmare, but the second that she opened her eyes the truth was obvious.

So she slipped on her shoes and stumbled out of the bedroom, her dog whining and not sure where the door was. Axel of course led her outside, not bothering to keep quite as she slammed the door to the bunker on her way out.

Bubble was very obviously excited to finally have the chance to relieve herself and took her time trotting around. Axel sat on a bench and watched her dog and sighed softly. She needed to call Kristen and tell her they had gotten in. She'd promised to do that as soon as they got to the bunker but she had completely forgotten. She reached into her pocket for her phone and groaned when she realized that she didn't have it and wasn't exactly sure where it was.

Dean had heard his daughter get up and waited a few minutes before he followed outside, "Sleep okay?" he asked, standing in the newly opened doorway of the bunker.

Axel yawned, squinting her eyes from the harsh sun, "Have you seen my phone?" she asked, ignoring his question altogether.

"Yeah, I put it on the charger. You left it in the Impala."

"Cool," she grunted out, "I need to call Kristen and let her know we made it."

"Already did it," Dean confirmed, "After you went to bed I called her up. Good news though, your stuff is waiting at the post office if you want to go and get it."

"Okay," she sighed.

"I figured we could go and get something for breakfast and then go pick it up. We'll have to wait until Sam's back to get you a bed though, he is the one with a pickup truck."

"Awesome," she barked, "I'll get dressed and we can go."

"Axe, chill with the attitude."

Her gaze turned quickly to him, "What attitude?" she snapped.

Dean put his hands up, "Never mind. I'll just go get the shit myself. You can stay here with your dog. I won't be long," he turned to go back inside, "Don't leave, okay?"

"Fine, whatever," she muttered.

He was almost inside with the door closed when Axel spoke again.

"Hey Dad."

He stopped immediately and blocked the door from closing, "Yeah?"

"Can I meet him? Castiel."

Dean frowned, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why?" she demanded, but then shook her head, "Sorry, I mean why not?" she was a little calmer, "Is he dangerous? Would he hurt me?"

"No," Dean shook his head, "I don't think that he would hurt you."

"So then why can't I meet him?" she was doing her best to remain calm, but the irritability was obvious.

"I just don't think it would be good for either of you."

"Really?" she asked, slowly standing up, "It wouldn't be good for me or him?"

Dean nodded, looking down at his feet.

"Or would it not be good for you?" Axel asked.

Dean just kind of stood there.

"That's what I thought, Dean," she muttered.

Dean shut the door to the bunker. That hurt, her calling him Dean that really hurt. She didn't see him as her dad anymore, obviously. She wanted Castiel. He just shook his head and headed to the impala. She might not see him as a dad anymore, but he still felt like one so he was going to pick her stuff up and get her something to eat.

Axel waited until she saw the Impala pulling out of the bunker and disappearing before calling Bubble and heading back inside. She headed into the kitchen to make herself something to eat when she saw a bottle of whiskey sitting on the counter and picked that up instead. Slowly she opened it and sniffed. It smelled absolutely terrible.

Occasionally Kristen let Axel have a glass of wine with dinner, but she'd never drank anything stronger because she'd never been around anything she could get access too. She took a sip from the bottle and immediately spit it into the sink and did her best to rinse her mouth out. It was burning from the alcohol.

"Gross," she groaned, feeling nauseated from the alcohol she hadn't swallowed a drop of. Bubble was standing at her feet and looking up at her hopefully, "You want breakfast, huh?" she sighed and opened the fridge, there was half a burger so Axel unwrapped that, took a small bite and then fed the rest of it to Bubble. She patted the dog's head before walking out of the kitchen and taking a seat at the familiar, yet completely unfamiliar, map table. She set her hands on the table and put one over the other and that's when she chuckled to herself.

"I wonder," she whispered to herself, thinking about the Carver Edlund books and how Dean and Sam used to pray to Castiel and how he would come when they called. That must have been exaggerated, right? She knew that somethings in those books were exaggerated, surely that was one of them. But still the urge was there.

Axel cleared her throat, "Uh," she spoke aloud, "I've never done this before. I really don't know how to do this," she kept her hands clasped tightly together as if that would somehow amplify her praying ability, "Cas- er, Castiel. Castiel, it's me. It's Axel," she shook her head, feeling like a complete idiot, "It's your daughter. I'm at the bunker, I don't know if you know where that is but-"

A gently breeze caught her attention followed by nearly falling out of her chair as the angel appeared next to her. Her jaw completely dropped and she thought for a second she was hallucinating from the mouthful of alcohol she spit into the sink. She tried to speak, tried to say anything, but she couldn't.

"Axel," the man narrowed his eyes at her, just his presence was fierce, and something burned in those blue eyes, something that Axel found both comforting and completely terrifying at the same time.

Slowly and wobbly she stood up, unable to close her mouth as she looked at the man.

"Are you all right?" he asked, "How do you know who I am?"

"My dad- er, uh, I mean Dean told me."

"He did?"

She nodded, "You're my father?"

"Yes," he stated, "My DNA combined with Imogen's is what created you."

She snorted a little in amusement.

"What's funny?"

"It's nothing," she assured him, but decided to explain anyways, "Just, really the only information I have about you came from some books written by some hack writer. I thought he was embellishing the way you talk to be funny, but he was spot on."

"You're speaking of my father."

"Your father?" she repeated his statement, "Wait, you're not saying that Carver Edlund-"

"He's my father," the man confirmed, "He's God."

"Jesus Christ," Axel breathed out,

"No," the angel shook his head, "He's God."

"It's a figure of-" but she stopped and shook her head, "I can't believe praying to you actually worked."

"Did Dean ask you to contact me?" he questioned, "Imogen or Sam? Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, I mean as far as I know everyone's okay. I actually haven't met Imogen yet."

Castiel was looking even more confused, "Does Dean know that you've summoned me?"

"No," Axel shook her head, "And he would probably be pretty angry if he did know. He didn't want me to meet you. He's just jealous for no reason. Probably thinks I want to replace him, but all I wanted to do was meet you and I don't know, see if I looked anything like you."

Castiel nodded slowly and raised a hand up to touch her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Axel asked, looking him in the eye.

He held his hand there for several moments before letting it drop back down to his side, "Something is wrong."

"What's going on?"

"Is there some kind of warding up?" he questioned, "Angel warding?"

"Not that I know of," then all of a sudden she turned her head to her dog who was slowly approaching and growling angrily at Castiel, "Bubble, calm down," but the dog ignored her and walked protectively in front of her, growling and showing her teeth to the angel.

Slowly Castiel reached out to the dog who attempted to snap at him, but the second he made contact the dog fell to the ground limp.

"What the hell did you do?" Axel screeched, dropping to her knees and pulling her dogs head into her lap, "You killed her!"

"No," Castiel shook his head, "She's asleep. She'll wake in a few minutes," then he reached out his hand once more to make contact with Axel's head, and still nothing happened, but Axel did stand back up.

"What are you doing?" she demanded this time.

"My abilities aren't working on you," he stated, both his hands now at his side, "I can't put you to sleep or wipe your memory."

"Why the hell would you do that to me?"

"So you wouldn't remember this meeting," he stated.

"I don't want to forget it… Why do you want me to forget?"

Castiel shook his head, "You can't tell Dean… I made him a promise that I would stay away from you."

"Why?" she demanded, "You don't want to know me? I'm your daughter biologically. Not his."

"That's not it," he stated, "It's not that I don't want to know you, I've wished every day since I found out that your mother was dead that I was the one raising you. But I made Dean a promise, and I intended to stick to that promise. I only came when you called because I thought that something was wrong."

"Oh," Axel nodded, "Well no worries, he'd be pretty pissed at me too if he found out so I won't tell him."

Castiel nodded slowly, "So this will just be our secret."

Axel nodded, feeling a little disappointed, "Sure."

"I should go," he nodded, looking away from her.

"Wait," Axel grabbed his hand and it was like a surge of energy flowed through her body, and though Castiel wouldn't want to admit it he felt the same thing. She cleared her throat once again, "Can I see you again?" she asked, not letting go of his hand, liking how powerful he made her feel.

Had it been two seconds ago, before she had grabbed his hand, he would have said no. But there was something in him, something that wouldn't let him say no. "Dean," he stated.

"We wouldn't tell him," she said softly, "It would be our secret."

Castiel nodded slowly, "Okay," he agreed, "I have to go now."

Axel nodded but couldn't make herself let go of his hand just yet.

He lingered for several moments, also not wanting to let go, "Axel," he breathed softly and was just about to ask her to come with him when he heard the front door to the bunker starting to open.

Quickly Axel ripped her hand away, "You should go," she urged him, "If my dad sees you he'll never let us see each other again."

And in the next instant Castiel had vanished.

"Axel!" Dean called out, "Help me unload some of these boxes, okay?" he was coming down the stairs with one of the boxes that Kristen had shipped to her, "Figured it would be quicker to just carry them down the stairs than all the way from the garage."

"Okay," she met him at the foot of the stairs and smiled.

"Someone's in a better mood."

"Low blood sugar," she made up an excuse, "I ate an apple, and I'm feeling better."

Dean chuckled and set the box down a few feet from the stairs, "We've got four or five boxes to bring inside. It looks like it's about to rain and I don't want to leave Baby out in the rain if I don't have to," then he caught a glimpse of Bubble who was laying very still on the ground, "Is she okay?" Dean asked, heading over to the dog.

Quickly Axel grabbed his arm to stop him, "She's fine. She's just hungry, I think the dog food's still in the car. She acts like a diva when she's hungry."

Dean nodded slowly, "Come on then, let's get unloaded."


	40. Chapter Thirty-Nine

"Son of a bitch," Imogen groaned out, picking herself up off the floor in which her head had just bounced off of. She didn't have time to think about the blood that was pouring down her back as the demon approached her once more, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her against the wall.

The demon's eyes were jet black and she let out a hissing noise as she slowly leaned in and took a long whiff of Imogen before inspecting her further, "No," the demon dropped Imogen back to the ground, "It can't be… You're not…"

Imogen's head was pounding and it was like the demon's voice was echoing hundreds of times over.

"You can't be the queen," the demon stated, "You smell like her, your meat suit looks like her… But you're not a demon."

Imogen couldn't even make out what the demon was saying to her, the woman was barely conscious.

"Does Crowley know of this?" the demon inquired, squatting down to her level and taking Imogen's head in her hands, "Is this some kind of plan?"

"Crowley," Imogen grunted out before her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell sideways onto the ground.

"Hey!" Sam yelled, running at the demon and before it had a chance to react Sam had run it through with the demon knife. Once he threw the demon's meat suit out of the way he was at his sister's side, gently slapping her cheek, "C'mon, wake up," he insisted before noticing the blood that was pooling around her head and running into his jeans.

Quickly Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and started to call an ambulance but before he got the chance he heard someone clearing their throat and he looked up and when he saw who it was he immediately shot to his feet, readying the knife, "You stay the hell away from her," Sam growled angrily, "I will kill you, make no mistake."

Crowley chuckled, "Oh silly Moose. I'm only here to help."

"You? You're here to help? Fat chance. I'll tell you one more time, get the hell away from her."

Crowley rolled his eyes, "She's dying. You realize that, right? Severe brain hemorrhage. Sorry about that, guess not all of our subjects got the memo not to kill all Winchesters. Thanks for taking care of that pesky demon, saved me several seconds of giving her the most painful death imaginable."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sam snarled.

"Oh I had this order whilst the queen and I were ruling over hell. It was kill all Winchesters, well at least the adult ones. Once your sister was human again she became a target I suppose, even though I had revoked that order. However, next time just avoid all demonic omens. If I want your help with something I'll let you know."

"I don't work for you, Crowley."

"Fine, then you run the risk of something like this happening," he took a step towards Imogen who was growing paler by the second, "Now if you don't mind."

Sam had a knife at the man's throat, "I told you not a step closer."

"She will die," Crowley warned, "You know that right?"

"And you think that I'm just going to let you take her? Make her your queen again?"

"So your solution is to just let her die? I know logic isn't your strong suit Moose, but wouldn't it make sense that if she did die that she would wind up back in hell… The place she went the last time that she died?"

Sam narrowed his eyes, "What do you want Crowley?"

"To save her," he assured Sam, "Nothing more, I swear to God or Chuck or whatever the hell he goes by nowadays."

"And why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't. Don't trust anybody. But I can assure you that I am fixing her for my own selfish reasons."

"Ah and here I was thinking you were an altruist," Sam replied apathetically.

"Are you going to let me fix her or not?"

"No."

"So you're going to let her die?" Crowley asked, "And then what? Try and summon her once again and cure her from being a demon? Because I really don't think that's going to happen twice."

"Why will saving her help you?" Sam asked, "You want her back, don't you? So why don't you just let her die so that you can go back to hell and there she will be?"

"Because I can't!" Crowley snapped, "She is my queen and I vowed to do any and everything to keep her safe. I cannot just sit idly by and watch her die," and with a flick of his wrist the king of Hell threw Sam against a wall and trotted over to the barely breathing woman, "You're going to be okay," Crowley assured her, pulling her head into his lap, "You're going to be just fine, my queen," and before the man had an opportunity to work his demonic powers on her he was getting jerked backwards and thrown through a wall.

"Cas," Sam breathed, righting himself now that Crowley's powers had broken from him.

Castiel didn't so much as acknowledge Sam as he bent down and wasted no time putting hand to head and healing Imogen. Her eyes quickly sprung open and Castiel was the first thing that she saw.

"Cas?" she grunted out, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You're okay," the angel assured her, "I fixed you. I couldn't last time, but this time everything is going to be okay."

Imogen blinked and sat up, Sam offered his hand and helped to pull her to her feet, "Cas what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," he shook his head looking to the hole in the wall and noting that Crowley was gone, "Are you feeling okay?"

"I think so," she reached up and felt her head, "Thanks."

Sam looked questioningly at Castiel but then back to Imogen, "We should get back to the motel. Catch a couple of hours and then head back. Dean's waiting for us at the bunker."

Imogen nodded, "You're probably right."

Castiel nodded and grabbed Imogen's hand and in the blink of an eye they were standing in the middle of their motel room.

"Cas?" she asked, feeling a little unnerved, "What's going on? Why'd you ditch Sam?"

"I needed to talk to you," he stated, "Sam has transportation back here, right?"

"Yeah, he's got his truck. What's going on? I haven't heard anything from you in months."

The angel didn't let go of Imogen, in fact his grip went from holding one of her hands to both of his hands gripping her shoulders so that she couldn't turn away from him.

"You're starting to scare me," she said coolly, "Who's dead?"

"I met her," Castiel stated, his blue eyes piercing her.

"Met who?"

"Our daughter. I met her," he explained, "Officially, as in she knew that I was her biological father."

Imogen's eyes went wide, "What? You did? Dean let you meet her? He hasn't even let me yet."

"No," he shook his head, "He didn't let me, he doesn't even know," Castiel took a deep breath, "She prayed to me."

"Wow," Imogen looked at him, "What was it like?"

"It was like I was whole," he explained, "When I touched the child her light shined though me, like nothing else in the world so much as existed."

Imogen swallowed hard, "I-I thought you said that you met her once before. Years ago, when you first came to speak to Dean and Sam."

"I did," he nodded, "But I was under the scrutiny of your brothers."

"There was no connection then?"

"There was," he explained, "From the first time I laid eyes on her, but I pushed it back, and for years I've known what was missing. It was her," his grip had tightened on the woman, "I can't keep my promise to Dean."

"What promise?"

"I promised to stay away from her, not intrude on their lives. But Imogen," his grip tightened on her, "If she calls me I won't be able to stay away. I will come if my child calls."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," she said calmly, pulling one of his hands off of her, "Also, remember that I'm human and not quite as strong as you so please don't crush my bones."

"Sorry," he said, removing his other hand from her shoulder.

Imogen still held his hand, "Cas, this is a really tricky situation we're in with this kid. Both of us."

"We should have been a family," the man insisted, "The three of us. But Dean said what he did about me not bringing your oldest child back and it ruined everything."

"That's not fair," Imogen sighed, "We can't blame Dean."

"Yes we can," the man argued, "Since the beginning Dean has done everything to keep us apart. Even after death he never once contacted me about our daughter."

"Because I asked him not to."

"And then when we were curing you he didn't want me to be a part of that even though I'm the one who told him that you were the queen. Even after your brothers proved that they could not handle the situation on their own I still had to fight to be included."

Imogen took a deep breath and slowly shook her head.

"If it hadn't been for Dean hiding the child from me then I could have brought you back. If I had known you were dead."

"I didn't want you too!"

It was like Castiel didn't hear her, "If it wasn't for that we would have come back together. Me, you, and our child, we would have been a family! We were supposed to be a family."

"No!" she screamed and shoved the angel angrily, "We wouldn't have! Don't you get it Cas? We were doomed from the beginning. It would have been me waiting at home for you to maybe show up and say hi to the kid once in a while," she shook her head, "I would have been miserable, you would have been miserable, and so would the baby. Dean was the best person to raise her, it was always supposed to be Dean."

Castiel stood silent for several moments before shaking his head, "When you lay eyes on her," he met Imogen's gaze, "When you touch her for the first time then you will understand what I am saying," he paused, "And when that times comes I want you to pray or call or text me, and then we can talk." And before Imogen had a chance to respond the angel had vanished.

It started off as a dull ache, something that Axel could just brush off as a headache, something she wasn't worried about. She was laying in Dean's bed, Bubble at her side. She'd just woken up, hadn't even bothered getting out of bed yet.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked as if she was going to get an answer, patting her dogs head and smiling as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and standing up, "Wanna go outside?" she asked the pup who didn't miss a beat before jumping out of the bed and bounding over to the door. She smiled as the dog led her out of the room and up the stairs and out of the bunker where she ran around in the wooded area, darting around trees happily.

Axel sat down on a bench and rubbed her increasingly aching head. Must be from the sun, she thought to herself, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. It was only her second day here and she felt lousy. Of course the headache, but more so the fact that she was in a state of panic, not sure when she was going to meet her mother and she hadn't talked to Kristen or either of her two best friends since she got here. They had all called and texted, but Axel couldn't make herself reply and she hated herself for it.

"Bubble," she called to the dog when she'd had sufficient time to do her business, the dog came running and they both went back inside and back down the stairs where Bubble trotted over to her food and started chowing down.

Axel took a few steps into the room before sitting down at the map table and laying her head in her hands, her headache was growing more and more painful by the second. She breathed deeply, kept her eyes shut tight. She wanted to scream, wanted to cry, but she was in so much pain that she couldn't move. And then all of a sudden it was gone, but still she didn't move, afraid any slight adjustment would bring back the pain.

Everything was completely silent, until it wasn't.

"Hello darling."


	41. Chapter Forty

Axel held her breath. She'd heard this voice before, many, many times in her life, but only when she was asleep, no exceptions. She must have fallen back to sleep at the table, that's why her head didn't hurt. She was asleep. She had to be.

"Come on now," the thickly accented voice coaxed, "Don't be rude, I know you can hear me."

Very slowly Axel raised her head, she was in the bunker, still sitting at the map table, and she could hear Bubble slurping her water in the other room. She breathed a sigh of relief, she was awake now. It was just a little dream. But then a dark haired man in a dark coat appeared on the chair next to her and Axel literally fell out of her chair, so frightened that she couldn't move.

"Don't worry princess," he smiled happily, staying seated, "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Who are you?" she stammered out.

Crowley scratched his beard, "We're family, you and I."

"Are-are you an angel?" she asked, seeing as he had just appeared before her like Castiel had.

The man smiled devilishly, "Not exactly," he admitted, "I'm kind of on the other end of the spectrum."

"You're Satan?" her heart was racing.

"Darling, Lucifer is an angel."

"I'm dreaming," she said, closing her eyes and putting her hands over her ears, "You're not real. You're just a dream."

"No, little one. I am very real. I'm just in your dreams and I have been since you were very small."

"I'm dreaming," she repeated to herself, "You're not really here. I'm going to wake up and you're going to be gone."

"You're not dreaming," he assured her, "But you are right about something, I'm not really here. I'm just inside of your head."

"What do you want?" her small voice asked, grabbing fistfuls of her own hair.

"From you? Nothing. Not right now anyways, I just wanted to check up on you."

Axel looked up from the spot she was cowering in under the map table, and then she spotted the gun that was strapped underneath and pulled it out and got out from under the table and pointed it at Crowley, shutting her eyes and pulling the trigger over and over again. She'd never shot a gun, it was loud and tears were streaming down her face. When she finally opened her eyes the man was still sitting at the table and so she made sure it was aimed right at him and shot it again. It went right through him like he wasn't even there.

Slowly Crowley got to his feet, "I told you darling, I'm real, very real, but I'm not really here right now," and then he vanished.

Axel was still standing there with the gun raised and pointed as Dean came barreling into the room, his eyes went wide when he saw his daughter standing there with a gun in hand and trembling, "What's going on?" he asked, slowly approaching her, not sure what to expect.

She looked to her father, hands trembling, tears rolling down her cheeks, but still holding the gun. "Axel," he was trying to keep himself calm as he approached, "Give me the gun, okay?" he said, noticing all the holes in the chair she had shot, "Hand me the gun, nobody needs to get hurt."

The girl didn't move, didn't say a word, and didn't resist as her father finally got to her and took the gun from her, dropped the clip out, and made sure there were no more bullets in the chamber before slipping it into the waistband of his pajama pants.

Once the gun was out of sight Axel wrapped her arms around her father, burying her face in his chest and sobbing. Dean pulled her tightly and kissed the top of her head, the way he'd done dozens of times when she was much younger.

He gave her a few minutes to calm down before holding her at arms lengths and meeting her eye, "What were you doing with that gun?" he asked softly.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed out, "I didn't mean to. Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad," Dean assured her, "I'm not. I'm just concerned. What's going on?"

"It was nothing," she wiped a tear from her cheek, "There was a man-"

"A man?" Dean interrupted, "Where'd he go? Did he hurt you?"

"No," she shook her head, "I think I was dreaming. I must have fallen asleep at the table or something and it was a bad dream and I just saw the gun and freaked out."

Dean took a deep breath and hugged her again, "I'm so glad you didn't get hurt," he pulled her tighter.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, "I'll never touch a gun again, I promise."

Dean shook his head, "No, you can't promise that," he stated, "I'm gonna teach you how to use it," he gently propelled her towards the shooting range in the bunker, "This is something that I should have done a long time ago. That way if you ever need to know how to use a gun you know how to do it safely."

"No Daddy, I don't want to."

She sounded so much like a small child, and the fact that she called him Daddy instead of Dad almost got her way, but this was more important. "Axel," he gently grabbed her arm, directing her to where he wanted her to go, "You need to know how to use a gun. You're a Winchester, chances are you're going to need to use it again. So before its too late we are going to learn how to do it right. Understand?"

"Yeah," she breathed, nodding slowly, "Yeah I understand."

"Did you mean what you said?" Imogen asked, her voice shattering the silence that had pervaded the car for several hours now.

It was late, Sam thought that she was asleep, and he actually jumped when her voice broke the silence and the car swerved a little, "Jesus Christ," he said, one hand on the steering wheel the other on his racing heart, "You scared the hell out of me."

"Ah, well better out than in," she turned in the seat to look at him, "So did you mean it?"

"Did I mean what?" he questioned, truly having no idea what she was talking about.

"What you said, when you and Dean were trying to cure me from being a demon. You said that you two would have been a lot better off if you hadn't had to raise me."

"Jeeze Em, that was years ago. You're still holding onto that?"

"I just-"

"Of course I didn't mean it," he cut her off, "I was pissed off and scared shitless. You had just beat Dean's head in and you kept spouting venom and I wanted to say something that would hurt you too, only I forgot that you were a demon and you weren't going to give a shit until you were human again. And I apologized as soon as you were human again."

"And I get that," she nodded, "But can you honestly tell me that you've never really felt that way?"

Sam started to immediately deny it, but instead his mouth hung open for several moments as he stared directly at the road, "I love you," he finally said, "I've always loved you and I'm glad that Dean and I got to raise you. I wouldn't change that for anything, you made me who I am today. But I'm not going to lie to you and say that sometimes I wish it were different."

Imogen nodded, "I love you too Sam. And I'm so damn sorry I've caused you guys so much pain."

"Em, you're whole life got turned upside down when Dean and I joined it. It's not you who needs to be sorry. It was our job to take care of you."

"It shouldn't have been."

"But it was, and that wasn't your fault. I'm sure that Dean would agree with me that we wouldn't change raising you. Yeah there was a lot of pain and bullshit, but Dean had that with me before you ever came along."

Imogen nodded slowly, "Thanks Sammy."

"Of course," he kept his attention on the road, "Are you nervous?"

She stated to ask him what he was talking about, but she knew, "More than I've ever been nervous about anything ever."

"She's a great kid," Sam explained, "She's amazing. Dean did a good job with her."

"So since she's back home now can I finally know where she's been all this time?" With Jody, right?"

Sam shook his head, "No, she's been with Kristen."

"Kristen?" Imogen asked, "Like Dean's ex-girlfriend?" she paused, "Wait… Are they together? Did they get back together after I died?"

"No," Sam shook his head "In fact they hadn't seen or spoken since before you died until we showed up on her door with Axel."

"Why her?" Imogen asked, "Why the one person that he knew couldn't stand me and I couldn't stand either?"

"I wondered the same thing too for the longest time, but it was the one place he thought no one would ever think to look," Sam explained, "I mean, obviously he was right."

"But she hated me. She couldn't have been all that thrilled about taking care of my kid."

"Well, she didn't know it was your kid," Sam explained, "Dean told her she was his."

"Oh," she said softly, "Well I guess that's for the better."

"She loves Axel a lot," Sam explained, "Axel loves her too."

Imogen nodded, "And what did Dean tell Axel when she asked who the woman was?"

Sam sighed, "He told Axel that Kristen was her mother."

Imogen looked like a deflated balloon as she sunk down in the seat of the truck, "Of course he did."

"He didn't know what else to say, and he wanted to keep Axel safe. You have to know that if there was another way he would have figured it out. Axel wanted a mom and Dean wanted to give her one. She knows the truth now, if it makes you feel any better."

"Not really," the woman muttered, "I just can't believe my daughter calls someone else mom."

"She doesn't," Sam explained, "At least I've never heard her call her mom. She's always called her Kristen."

"Still."

"I know," he reached over and patted her knee, "It's going to be okay though, I promise. She's going to love you and you're going to love her. She's a great kid," he paused, "Well, she's not really much of a kid anymore, but she's awesome."

"With my genes and Castiel's genes and Dean and your influence how could she NOT be awesome?" Imogen teased playfully.

"That's the Imogen I know and love," he said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel, "We'll be back to the bunker in about thirty minutes, if you want to call Dean and let him know."

"Good idea," Imogen agreed, pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing Dean's number. He answered on the third ring.

"Who's dead?" his voice was groggy.

"Did I wake you up?" Imogen asked, "Just wanted to let you know that Sammy and I are like a half hour out."

"Congratulations," the man grumbled, "Don't be loud when you come in. The kid's asleep and so am I."

"Thanks," Imogen sighed, "See you later," and the she hung up the phone and looked to Sam, "He doesn't sound all that thrilled that we're on the way back."

"Don't read too much into it," Sam reasoned, "He's just nervous… I think he's kind of afraid that you're going to steal Axel away or something."

"I wouldn't do that," she explained, though what Castiel had said to her after the hunt worried her that that might not be true.

"I know that, and so does Dean… But that doesn't stop him from worrying about it," he sighed, "Our brother might also be a little worried about Axel liking you better or something crazy like that."

Imogen sighed and shook her head, looking out of the window, "If only."

Sam fell silent and focused back on the road. Imogen had refused to speak to him about what Castiel had said to her when they left him at the scene of the hunt, but it was pretty obvious that she had no idea that Crowley had been the first one to come to her aid, and Sam damn sure wasn't going to tell her that. He still hadn't decided if he was going to tell Dean.


	42. Chapter Forty-One

"Keep your damn voice down," Dean barked, loud enough for Axel to hear him down the hall and behind a closed door, "I don't want you waking her up."

"I'm already awake," Axel grumbled to herself, knowing no one would hear her. She wanted to get up, she knew that Sam and her biological mother were here now. She wanted to see Sam, but she was terrified to meet her mother.

Bubble heard the voices of the people she didn't know and growled lowly, "Hush," Axel whispered, gently scratching her dog's back. She was laying on Dean's bed and staring up at the ceiling. It was ten in the morning and she'd been awake for a while, hearing them chatting down the hall. In all fairness, they were trying to be quiet but voices carry in the halls of the bunker so she had just been laying there and listening to them talk. All they were talking about was the hunt, about the accident, and about Castiel coming to the rescue. Axel wondered to herself if it was before or after he had seen her… Would he have told Imogen?

A sharp dinging noise pulled her out of her thoughts and she rolled onto her side and picked up her phone off of Dean's end table. There was a text from Kristen and she didn't even bother reading it, instead she unlocked her phone and called her. It rang once before Kristen picked up.

"Hey kiddo," she said pleasantly, "Long time no talk."

"I'm sorry," she kept her voice quiet so that other people in the bunker wouldn't accidentally hear her and make her come out and socialize before she was ready.

"What's going on?" Kristen asked, the tone in Axel's voice worrying her.

"Nothing."

"Are you in trouble?"

"No," Axel took a breath, "She's here."

"Who?" Kristen asked before realizing what the teen meant, "Oh, you mean Imogen."

"Yes."

"Have you talked to her?"

"No, I'm hiding in Dad's room. They got here earlier and I'm pretending to be asleep," she gently stroked Bubble, doing her best to keep herself calm.

"You don't want to meet her?"

"No," she lied, "Okay, I guess I do, I don't know. What if she wants me to call her mom?"

"Well," Kristen didn't want to be having this conversation, but she was going to do her best to keep her own feelings out of it. She wanted to do what was best for Axel, "Do you want to call her mom?"

"What about you?" Axel asked, "Do you want me to call her that?"

Kristen wanted to tell her the truth, tell her that it would kill her if she called Imogen that, "If that's what you want to do, if she feels like your mom, then you should call her that."

Axel was silent.

"Talk to me," Kristen prodded, "Tell me what you're thinking."

Axel cleared her throat and wiped a tear from her eye, "I don't want another mom. I just want you."

Kristen would be lying if she said that Axel saying those words didn't wash her over with relief, "Oh sweetheart, you're always going to have me, no matter who created you. As long as you want me around and I'm alive you're always going to have me."

"I want you to be my mom… Not this woman I've never met."

Axe, I want you to listen to me. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Regardless of biology or blood or whatever I'm always going to feel like you mom. I'm always going to think of you like a daughter. And guess what? Anytime anyone asks me if I have kids I'm always going to tell them that you're my daughter, because I love you so damn much."

"I love you too," Axel's voice broke, "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Kristen agreed, "Who knows, maybe we'll see each other soon."

"I hope so."

"So do I. Until then, you should probably go and rip the bandage off and go meet the woman. It's bound to happen eventually since you guys all live together. I don't think you can avoid her forever."

"You underestimate me," Axel joked, "I always win at hide and seek."

"Well, you've got a point," Kristen said with a chuckle, "Listen, I'm no expert on Imogen but I did live with her and Sam and Dean for a while so I know a little about her. Plus, the way we met was pretty comical. I'd love to tell you what I know."

"Please," Imogen begged, "Anything you can tell me that might make me feel better."

"Okay, okay fine. Firstly you have to know that I had no idea that you dad and Sam even had a sister, they never told me. I guess she had taken off on them when she was a teen and they didn't hear anything from her for a few years. Did your dad tell you about any of that?"

"Yeah, a little. Not that you didn't know about her, just that she had a baby who died and she took off."

"Okay, well anyways Dean was off on a hunt and I needed a place to kick it for a few days so Dean told me I could hang out at the bunker but what he didn't mention was his sister was going to be there. I guess he didn't want to tell me that news over the phone and expected your Uncle Sam would tell me when he got there. He must not have realized Sam wasn't going to be their either. So I got there and I was getting settled in and then I hear something so I've got my gun raised and I go to look around and there Imogen is, completely naked, also pointing a gun at me. I've got no idea where she got the gun, because she was naked, but yeah."

It took everything in Axel not to burst out laughing, but she didn't want to alert the other occupants of the bunker that she was awake just yet, "I can't believe it," she said, lowering her voice a bit.

"Yeah, it was something straight out of a sitcom, I tell you what," Kristen chuckled, "I thought she was with Dean, and me and Dean weren't exclusive or anything but I still didn't think he'd throw me together with another one of his conquests. But then I found out she was his sister."

"How come you two didn't get along?" Axel asked, "Is she mean?"

Kristen sighed, "I hate to admit this, after all the resentment I harbored for her for years, but she and I are a hell of a lot alike. We both run from our problems and we both loved Sam and Dean so much and we didn't want to see them get hurt," she sighed, "I can't speak for Imogen, I can only guess, that we were both jealous of the other one. Sam and Dean were always going to choose her over me, that's their sister, and we made them choose and they chose her. She needed them though, more than I did and it hurt like all hell but I should have never made it a competition with Imogen."

"I'm sure she wasn't completely innocent."

"No, we were both at fault, but like I said I knew if they had to choose they would choose her and I hated her for it for a really long time, but it was what it was."

"Do you still hate her?"

Kristen paused, "I blamed her for tearing me and Dean apart, but truth be told I did as much of that as she did. I hated that she hurt Dean and Sam so much. But I think if she and I had met under different circumstances that we could have been really good friends, but we were just so damn jealous of each other and neither one of us could see passed that."

Axel sighed softly, "But you hate her?"

"No, I don't. I don't hate her. If it wasn't for her then I never would have gotten you. So she might hate me until the end of time, but she gave me the best part of my life."

"I'm scared."

"Don't be," Kristen assured her, wanting more than anything to put her arm around her and hug her, "It's going to be okay. You dad would never let you around her if he thought for even a second that she was going to hurt you."

"I know that," Axel sighed, "But what if she hates me?"

"Oh baby, she's not going to. Imogen was always rough around the edges but she loved so damn much. Sam and Dean were everything to her. She's going to love you."

"Did she love my real dad?" she shook her head, "My biological father?" she paused, "Did you know him?"

"I met Castiel a couple of times," she explained, "And yes, Imogen loved him so damn much. It was heart breaking seeing the way that she pined after that angel when he rejected her. She wanted him so badly."

"Wait, what?" Axel asked, "I didn't know that."

"Oh great. I've got a big mouth."

"Please tell me," she begged.

"Okay, I'll tell you," Kristen agreed, "But why don't you ask her first? Get her side of the story and then I'll tell you what I know. That way I don't sway your opinion one way or another."

Axel sighed, "Okay, I'll try."

"Go on then," Kristen urged, "Go meet her, get to know her, call her mom if you really want to. But just know I'm always going to think of you like my daughter, whether you like it or not."

"Thanks, mom," she said softly, "I hope it's okay if I call you that."

Kristen was glad she was alone at her house and no one could see the tears streaming down her cheeks, "Of course it is," she agreed, "Just maybe don't let Imogen hear you say that right away."

"I won't."

"Tell Bubble hi for me, okay?"

"You got it. I love you."

"I love you too."

Axel hung up the phone because she knew if she said anything else she wouldn't be getting off the phone and she really needed to get this meeting over with before she chickened out, snuck out the window, and never came back.

"C'mon Bubble," she patted her hip and slipped on her shoes. She was certain the dog needed to go outside by now and as she was walking through the bunker and up the stairs and thought it was weird that the voices she had heard earlier were now nowhere to be found. She opened the front door and let Bubble run out in front of her to go do her business but the dog stopped in her tracks when she spotted Sam. The dog started to get defensive but after she sniffed him she must have remembered him from the last time he had visited them in Alaska. Sam reached his hand out to pat the dog's head but it had run off in search of a tree to pee on and things to sniff. Axel herself couldn't help but to throw her arms around her uncle, the same way she did every year when she got to see him.

"Hey kiddo," he hugged her back, "Long time no see."

"Way too long," she let go of him and looked up, "I was starting to think I wouldn't see you until next year."

"Nah," he shook his head, "I was going to book a plane ticket as soon as I got back from Texas."

Axel smiled, "I really missed you."

"Right back at'cha," he looked over his shoulder, "Can't believe Dean let you bring the dog."

"Well, guilt is pretty convincing."

Sam nodded, "So," he fidgeted.

"So?"

"You know Imogen's here?"

Axel just stood there, didn't say anything.

"Your biological mother, Imogen."

Axel nodded, "I heard you guys talking in the hall."

"Sorry if we woke you up. We were trying to be quiet."

"No, it's fine. I was just trying to get the courage to come out and meet her."

"Nervous?"

"Yep," she nodded, "Very. Had to call Kristen and get her to give me a pep talk."

"I want to tell you not to be nervous, but I would be in your situation. Hell, I'm nervous for you and Imogen's super nervous… Dean is too for that matter. Basically we're all nervous."

"She's nervous?" Axel asked, unwilling to admit that made her feel a little bit better.

"Yep. Been asking me tons of questions about you. I know that's she's wanted to meet you for a long damn time."

"I have too," she muttered to herself and took a deep breath, "Guess we should go and get it over with."

"Guess so," Sam agreed, heading to the door.

"Bubble!" Axel called and smiled as the dog came running.


	43. Chapter Forty-Two

"Axel," Dean looked up from where he had just sat down at the table as Axel and Sam were coming down the stairs, "I didn't even know you were up," he quickly stood up, looking very out of sorts.

It wasn't until Axel was at the foot of the stairs, Bubble had already run past her to get to her food bowl, that she realized the woman that was sitting at the table with her father, "Oh," she stopped in her tracks, "Hi."

Imogen looked just as surprised to see the girl and she too got to her feet, wiping her hands on her pants, "H-hi."

Axel and Imogen both looked to Dean.

"Oh, uh. Axel, this is your mother Imogen. Imogen, your daughter Axel," Dean looked to Sam who had no idea what to do and they all stood there in an uncomfortable silence for several moments. "Can someone please say something?" Dean asked, making both Imogen and Axel jump.

"I-uh," Imogen cleared her throat, "I've been wanting to meet you for a while."

Axel nodded slowly, "Yeah, I had no idea you existed until like a week ago."

Imogen's face fell.

"In fact, I actually had a mom up until a week ago. But then I guess Dad… Or Dean wanted to play house some more," she hadn't meant to say any of this, and she certainly hadn't meant to be so hostile, it just kind of came out and she was internally screaming at herself to stop, but it was like she lost control of herself.

"Axel," Dean snapped.

Imogen shook her head, "I don't know why I thought this was a good idea," she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

Dean's mouth hung open, "Sammy, go after her," he ordered his younger brother and then turned his attention back to Axel, "What the hell was that?"

Axel was just as surprised as her father, "I don't know," she admitted, "I didn't… I didn't mean to say that."

Dean took a deep breath and put a hand on both of his daughter's shoulders, "I get that you're angry, Axe. But it's not Imogen's fault, none of this is her fault. If you want to be pissed at anyone then you need to be pissed off at me."

Axel rolled her eyes and pushed him off, "Fine, then I'll be mad at you."

"Go to your room," Dean barked authoritatively at her.

"Excuse me?" she snapped back.

"You heard me, go to your room."

Axel crossed her arms over her chest, "No."

"Yes!"

"I don't even have a room," she stated calmly.

"Then go to my room," he ordered.

She scoffed, "You can't tell me what to do."

"I sure the hell can. I'm you father."

Axel scoffed and rolled her eyes, "No. You're not my father. You gave up that right four years ago when you abandoned me."

Maybe it was Dean's pent up anger and aggression at himself and that he hadn't had the outlet of hunting to blow off steam for the last couple weeks that he didn't realize what he was doing until they were down the hall and Axel was screaming, the dog was going absolutely crazy, and Sam was forcing the father and daughter apart.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Sam yelled at his brother, pushing him a safe distance away from the hysterical girl.

Dean saw past Sam at the young girl, with tears streaming down her face, and scrambling to get up off of the ground and run into Dean's room, slamming the door and locking it behind her. It was like everything had happened in an instant and Dean looked down to see that his arm was pouring blood.

"What the hell?" he breathed, lifting his arm up to inspect it closer and he looked over to see Imogen holding back the dog who was growling angrily at Dean.

"Sam, get him out of here," Imogen demanded.

Sam pushed Dean out of the room and away from the angry dog, "What the hell happened?" Sam asked again, "What could have possibly possessed you to do whatever the hell it was that you did?"

Dean rolled his eyes and headed into the bathroom to rinse his bloody arm, he tried to close the door behind him but Sam stopped him.

"Look, I don't know what she said to you but I do know that nothing she could have said would have warranted what I just saw. No matter how bad shit got when we were bringing Imogen up you never would have laid a hand on her, and you weren't even her parent. But with Axel, you're her father, Dean. So whatever the hell you need to work out you need to go do that, but you don't get to take it out on her, that is not happening."

"I'm not her father," Dean barked back at his brother, "Something that she reminds me of every goddamn chance she gets."

Sam grabbed fistfuls of his own hair and looked like he was about to explode, "She's a teenager, Dean! Jesus Christ, of course she's going to push your buttons. Of course she's gonna do whatever the hell she can to make you crazy. Imogen was ten times more stubborn than Axel and you never once laid a hand on her out of anger."

"Get the hell away from me Sam," Dean barked, trying to bandage up his own arm which was still bleeding, "And get rid of that fucking dog."

Sam shook his head, "If you ever lay a hand on Axel again you'll have me to answer to," the brother warned angrily.

"So scary," Dean rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you go, Dean? Go hunt, go get laid or drunk or whatever the hell that you need to do in order to be a decent human being again," Sam didn't wait for an answer before he walked out of the bathroom.

Sam's first stop was where they had left Axel, he knocked on Dean's door where he had seen her go inside, "Axe," Sam called, "It's me, it's Sam. Can I come in?" no answer, "Dean's not with me," and a few moments later the door opened. Sam hugged her tightly before holding her at arm's length, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she nodded, "It's my fault."

"No it's not," Sam met her eyes, "It's not your fault. Your dad, he owes you an apology. He never has the right to do that. No one does, ever. Understand?"

She shook her head, "I just want to go back with Kristen. I don't want to be here."

Sam frowned, "For years all I heard was how much you wanted to be here."

"I know. I don't know what changed. Maybe it was me, maybe it was him."

"Or," Sam began, "Maybe it was the fact that in the course of one day literally everything you knew turned out to be a lie."

"That might have had something to do with it," Axel agreed, chuckling sadly.

"Axe, you love your dad. I know that you love him, but I also know that you're mad as hell at him."

She nodded.

"But he's still your dad and he's been living with these lies longer than you have and he was always terrified that the second that it came out that you wouldn't love him anymore, that he wouldn't be your dad anymore. That's why he's so messed up right now. He feels like he's losing you."

Before the young girl had a chance to respond Imogen was walking up, holding onto Bubble's collar, "I was trying to keep her away from all the commotion, but she's been scratching at the door and I think she really wants you."

Axel knelt down and the dog came running to her and licked her face and Axel hugged her neck before noticing some blood on the floor, "Is she bleeding?" Axel inspected her dog.

"No," Sam shook her head, "She took a bite out of Dean's arm."

Axel hid her smile in her dog's fur, "Sweet girl," she gently stroked the dog.

"Are you okay, Axel?" Imogen asked.

Axel slowly stood up and looked at the woman, this was only the second time she'd looked at her mother, "Uh yeah, I'm okay," she said, "Sorry about all that."

Imogen nodded and looked to Sam, "Where's Dean?"

"Bathroom," he pointed to the direction.

"Thanks," she nodded, heading to the bathroom, the door was still cracked open and Dean was still trying to bandage himself, though the bandage was soaked through with blood, "Dean," she opened the door.

Dean looked up and rolled his eyes, "I don't need your lecture, Imogen. Just go play dolls with Sammy."

Imogen also rolled her eyes, "Let me do that," she came in and pushed him into a seated position on the closed toilet and stripped the soiled bandage off of his arm before placing a washcloth over it, "Put your hand there and apply pressure. C'mon Dean, you know basic first aid."

"What did I say about lectures?"

"It's not a lecture," she fished out some supplies and wet a gauze pad with some rubbing alcohol, "Okay, move your hand," she said, grabbing the washcloth and throwing it aside before cleaning the wound, "It's not too bad," she explained as Dean flinched from the harsh cleaner.

"Says the woman who didn't get fucking bit by a damn dog."

"Well, dogs are protective," she placed a dry gauze pad over the wound and taped it in place before winding an elastic bandage around it, "There," she gently smacked it, causing the man to wince, "All better."

"Thanks," Dean slowly stood up, "So, five minutes in and our lives are in shambles."

Imogen shrugged, "We're Winchesters. It's kind of what we're good at."

"Don't I know it?"

"Come on then," she ushered him out the door, "Us Winchesters are good at several things, hunting, fucking up, and apologizing for those fuck ups."

"I don't think she's even going to talk to me," Dean stated, "I think I should just go. Like Sammy said, go learn how to be a decent person again."

Imogen shook her head, "Oh no you don't. See, Sammy's going down to Texas next week and there's no way in hell that you're leaving me alone with Axel."

"She won't bite you," Dean narrowed his eyes, "What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know this kid! Hell, I was counting on you to help me get to know her and if you run off then I'm fucked. She likes you, she's gotta decide if she likes me, and I NEED you to help me figure out how to make her like me too."

Dean couldn't help but smile, "It doesn't take much to like you, sis."

Imogen patted his uninjured arm, "Thanks brother."

Sam walked into the room they were in.

"Is she okay?" Dean asked.

"She'll be fine," Sam assured him, "Give her some time to cool off before you try and talk to her, okay?"

"Okay," Dean agreed, "Look, I've gotta go and get her a bed for her room so she'll have her own place to storm off to. Can I use your truck, Sammy?"

Sam nodded, "I'll go with you," he turned to their sister, "Can you hold down the fort here?"

"What?" her eyes went wide, "No, I can't."

Dean patted her back, "You'll be fine. She'll probably stay in my room the whole time and even if she doesn't she's really low maintenance. Always has been."

Sam nodded, "We won't be gone that long.

Imogen still didn't look too sure, "Can one of you at least go and tell her?"

Dean looked to Sam, "She'd probably not appreciate a visit from me. So it's up to you, Sammy Boy."

"Fine," Sam sighed, "I'll be right back," he turned and headed for Dean's room and knocked lightly on the door, "Axel," he turned the knob and opened it. She was laying on the bed with Bubble's head on her stomach.

"What's up?"

"Your dad and I are gonna go out for a bit and get you a bed. Anything you need?"

She shook her head, "Wait, actually some chocolate would be awesome."

Sam nodded, "You got it. Imogen's gonna be here too, so if you need anything ask her or call me or your dad."

She scoffed, "Please. Dad would probably ignore my call or block my number."

"Axe," Sam sighed, "You know that's not true. He loves you."

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed, "How long are you gonna be gone?"

"I don't know, an hour or two maybe," he paused, hesitating to mention his next thought, "If you get bored maybe you could ask Imogen if she wants to help you clean out your old nursery so we can get you set up in there. Could be a nice way for you two to get to know each other."

Axel nodded slowly, "Okie doke."

Sam sighed, "Call if you need anything, okay?"

Axel nodded and Sam headed back out to the area Dean and Imogen were in, "Okay. I told her. She's fine with it. I suggested you two clean out her old nursery together," he looked to his sister, "Need anything while we're out?"

Imogen shook her head but then spoke, "Actually, if you could bring back some chocolate that would be fantastic."

Sam chuckled.

"What's funny?" his sister questioned.

"That's just basically exactly what your daughter just said."

"Well, she's got good taste."

"She's got your taste," Dean interjected, "She's a lot like you."

"Get out of here," she waved her brothers off.

They both headed for the door, "Call if you need anything," Sam said once more before both he and Dean were gone.

Imogen took a few deep breaths before heading to Axel's old nursery, it was right in-between Dean's bedroom and Imogen's room. She opened the door and flipped on the light, it was the first time she had been in here since before she died. It was musty but the old crib and baby stuff were still in here, along with some of Axel's old things, but she still remembered it. She remembered the first time that she saw the room after Dean and Sam had put it together as a surprise.

Slowly she walked across the room, stepping over a couple of toys that were laying in the floor, and to the crib. She lay her hand on it and gently ran it across the rail. Bobby and Nick, her son Oliver's father, had made this for her son. They hadn't had the chance to finish it before Nick and Oliver were both murdered so it sat unfinished in a shed at Bobby's for years until Imogen became pregnant again. Then Sam and Dean finished it and set up a whole nursery for her before she had Axel. A nursery she never got to use.

A layer of dust wiped off as Imogen ran her hand over it and the woman sighed. It hurt, looking at this crib reminded her that she never got to lay either one of her children in it. She never got to raise either one of her children and now one was dead and the other was a complete stranger who she was sure hated her. She couldn't blame her either.

Imogen grabbed the offending crib and pulled it out the door of what was going to be Axel's bedroom. It was pretty lightweight but it bumped loudly into a wall on the way out, which is what got Axel's attention and brought her out of Dean's bedroom

"Need help?" Axel asked without hesitation.

"It's okay," Imogen half smiled, not looking up from the crib, "I got it."

Axel shook her head, "Please let me help," but she didn't wait for permission before she got on the other side of the crib to help carry it, "Where are we putting this?"

Imogen scratched her head, she hadn't really thought about it, "The dungeon?"

Axel smirked, "Sure why not. In case there's ever any possessed babies."

Imogen chuckled and the two girls carried it down the stairs and left it there. If Sam or Dean had a problem with it then they could find a place for it.

On the way back up the stairs Axel sighed, "So, did you pick the crib?" she questioned, "Because I don't think I ever slept in it."

"You didn't?" this struck Imogen as strange, "How come?"

"I always slept in bed with Dad, er Dean. As far back as I can remember anyways. So I figure it always must have been my mom who wanted the crib."

Imogen nodded, "Uh, well it was actually my boyfriend who made the crib."

"Castiel?" Axel questioned, "I didn't know he was handy."

"No," she replied, the two reaching the top of the stairs and standing in the hallway, "No, definitely not Castiel."

Axel met her mother's eyes but didn't say anything.

"When I was a teen I got hurt pretty badly on a hunt so Sam and Dean dropped me with a fellow hunter, his name was Bobby. Have you heard of him?"

"Uh, yeah," Axel nodded, "He was like a dad to Sam and Dad."

"Exactly. He was kind of like my dad too and while I was with him I met a man named Nick and Nick was basically the first person I ever met who wasn't a hunter. Fast forward a few months and Nick got me pregnant and we had a son who I named Oliver," she paused, "Long story short Nick and Oliver were both killed because of a werewolf, but before that Bobby and Nick had been working to build me this crib. They didn't finish it, but when I got pregnant with you Dean and I drove out to pick it up and brought it here and Sam and Dean fixed it up for you."

"Wow," Axel nodded, "I guess it's a shame I didn't use it."

"It's fine," Imogen assured her, "So you and Dean shared a bed?" she questioned.

"Uh yeah. Until I was about twelve I guess. It only stopped then because he dropped me off with Kristen."

It took everything in Imogen not to make a face at the mere mention of that woman. Had Axel not been told that Kristen was her mother Imogen could have dealt a lot better with the whole situation of her daughter living with that woman, but that wasn't the case.

The mother and daughter pair went to work mostly in silence cleaning out the old nursery and packing some of the old toys into boxes. It was a comfortable silence though until Imogen got Sam's text that they were on the way back and she could no longer hold back the thing that had been on her mind since she had last seen Castiel.

"Axel," she said, standing up and dusting herself off and waiting until Axel turned to face her.

"What's up?" Axel asked, gently patting Bubble who had joined the ladies while they cleaned.

Imogen chewed the inside of her cheek, "Castiel, he came to me. He told me that you prayed to him."

Axel's jaw dropped, racking her brain trying to think up some excuse to get her out of this situation.

Imogen put her hand up, "Don't say anything," she said calmly, "I get that you were curious and that you wanted to meet him, but I also know that Dean told you no when you asked."

The teen was panicking, "I just… Please don't tell Dad."

"I won't," Imogen assured the girl, "I won't tell Dean just so long as you promise me that you won't contact Castiel again."

"I wanted to see him," Axel pleaded, "I wanted to get to know him. It's not about loving my dad less, I just want to know if I'm anything like my biological one."

"I know," Imogen swallowed hard, "I totally get the curiosity. Hell, if I could meet my dad or even my mom I would want to do it too. Axel, you really need to listen to me here. You met him, please, please don't contact him again," she took a deep breath, "Anything you want to know about him, anything at all you can ask me. I'll tell you whatever you want to know about him, I promise."

"Why?" Axel narrowed her eyes, "Dad said he wasn't dangerous and Castiel seemed okay with it too."

Imogen took a deep breath, "Dean doesn't know what I know about Castiel," she explained.

"So he is dangerous?" Axel questioned, "He wants to hurt me?"

"No," her heart was racing, "But Cas gets carried away and he hurts people even when he doesn't mean to. He thinks he's doing the right thing but he's not."

Axel just kind of stood there looking like a defiant teenager.

"I hate to say this," she paused, "And I know that despite giving birth to you I'm not your mom, but if you don't promise me right now that you won't contact or pray to Castiel again I'm going to have to tell Dean," she really hated this. They were having a pleasant time and it ended with her threatening her daughter.

"This is ridiculous," she shook her head, "Everybody is barking fucking orders at me and all I wanted to do was meet the guy who helped create me. I can't believe it's such a goddamn big deal."

"Axel," Imogen was trying not to shake, "I don't want to tell you what to do, but if you keep on with Castiel you're going to get hurt and I've got to do whatever I can to keep you safe."

"This isn't fair."

"I know it's not," Imogen did her best to keep her voice steady, "Just please promise me you won't contact him."

"Fine!" the young girl snapped, "I won't contact him. I'll pretend that he never fucking existed," she threw down the broom she had been holding and stormed out of her room, the dog following behind, and slammed Dean's door.

"Well that went well," Imogen mumbled to herself, picking the broom back up and finishing up the cleaning herself.


	44. Chapter Forty-Three

Axel was laying in her bed and staring up at the cement ceiling. She was climbing the walls, metaphorically speaking anyways. She hadn't left the bunker in days and she and Dean were once again at odds, in the months that she had been back home in Kansas the two were not getting along, not the way they used to. Axel knew that was on her, Dean was trying, really trying. But with everything that she knew and everything that she had been lied to about it was feeling impossible for her to forgive him. She was so damn angry.

It had been three days since she had spoken to anyone. Sam had been out on a hunt but was on his way home and he was the only one that she wasn't at odds with. Imogen was distant, Axel wanted so very badly to know this woman, she wanted it to be warm and loving and for Imogen to tell her everything but it was like pulling teeth to even get her mother in the same room as her and that killed the young girl, it absolutely killed her.

Axel's relationship with her biological mother was nothing at all like it had been with Kristen. She and Kristen had clicked immediately, it had been like they had known each other forever, and sure they had their differences but she felt loved. Not with Imogen, the woman barely spoke to her and it wasn't for a lack of things to say because she overheard Imogen speak, joke, go on for hours with her brothers. But the second that Axel would come into the room she would clam up, would barely respond to anything that Axel had to say.

It was quiet in the bunker. No noise, no talking, no nothing. Axel's bedroom was nestled in between both Dean's and Imogen's and she had heard both of them retreat to their rooms for the night hours before. When she was sure that both adults were tucked away for the night Axel found herself getting out of her bed and opening her bedroom door and creeping down the hallway. Dean's bedroom door was open, as it always was since she came home, and he was snoring loudly on the bed. In the twelve years that Axel had spent sharing a bed with her father she had never heard him snore quite like this. Everything was different now.

For a few moments Axel stood there and watched her father sleep. There was just enough light from the hall so that she could clearly see him. He was laying on his stomach with his hand hanging down and over the side of the bed. Axel had to squint her eyes and take a few steps closer to see what he was holding, it was a bottle. Slowly Axel made her way into the room and took it from Dean's hands. He kept snoring, didn't even seem to notice. He was drunk, that much was obvious, Axel could smell the alcohol on him. Slowly she shook her head and carried the bottle out of the room and went to sit at the table. For a while she found herself just staring at the bottle with a foul smelling amber colored liquid in it.

She knew it was forbidden, she knew that Dean would be beyond pissed if she drank it, and that's exactly why she did. She was going to do everything in her power to piss Dean off, because everything that he had put her through. So she drank, it burned, it tasted horrible, it made her eyes water, and it made an uncomfortable warmness in her belly, but she drank every last drop. There wasn't a whole lot left in the bottle that Dean had been drinking, but it was way more than Axel was going to need to go way overboard. She sat for a while and took deep breaths, letting the alcohol wash over her, and it did.

"What else can I do to piss you off," she muttered to herself, standing up and swaying a little, walking around the bunker. Then she spotted the keys to the Impala sitting on the map table and a wicked grin came over her face. She snatched up the keys and the slowly made her way up the staircase. The spiral of it made her head spin and she unlocked and opened the door and walked out into the cool night air.

The Impala was sitting a couple of yards from the entrance. Dean hadn't parked it in the garage like he usually did for one reason or another so Axel found herself stumbling out and over to the car. When she went to unlock it the keys slipped from her hand and as she bent down to pick them up it occurred to her only briefly that this isn't something that she should be doing. But the thought was fleeting and as she grabbed the keys and stood back up, looking to press the key into the lock she ran the metal key up the side of the car, leaving a nice, deep scratch.

A loud ringing pulled Sam out of his concentration on the road. He was ten minutes from the bunker and more than ready to be back there because he was exhausted and he was ready to see his family. It had been raining pretty steadily for the last couple of hours, which was starting to lull him to sleep so he was thankful when the ring of his phone alerted him and without checking the caller ID he answered.

"Hello?" he said, stifling a yawn.

"Uncle Sam," Axel's voice crackled over the line.

Sam knew something was wrong, her voice was off and she sounded scared, "What's up?" he asked.

"I need you to come pick me up."

"Where are you?" Sam's heart skipped a beat

"About ten miles from home. On the side of the highway. Just head like you're going to the grocery store, you'll see me."

Sam pressed on the gas and started heading in her direction, "Are you safe?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Are you hurt?"

No response.

"Axel, are you hurt?"

"A little," she admitted, "I just… Please, come get me."

"I'm on my way kiddo," he explained, "Where's Dean? Is he okay? What's going on?" he shook his head, "Put your dad on the phone."

"I can't," she breathed out, Sam knew she was growing more and more panicked just by the sound of her voice.

"Is he hurt?" Sam demanded, trying to stay calm for the sake of his niece.

"He's fine. He's asleep at the bunker."

"Axe, what's going on?"

"Please, come get me," she coughed, "I'm cold and wet. Uncle Sammy, I messed up."

"What happened?" he, himself was teetering on the edge of panic, "Talk to me."

"I'm so sorry. I gotta go. Please don't tell my dad."

"Axel, don't hang up the phone!" he demanded, but the line went dead so Sam found himself breaking the speed limit on this cold, dark, and wet night. It felt like an eternity but it wasn't more than ten minutes before he spotted the black Impala on the side of the road, the passenger's side pressed up against a large tree. As quickly as Sam could he pulled his own car to a stop, parked it, then was out and running over to the Impala.

"Axel!" he called out as he reached the car. He looked inside and she was sprawled across the backseat. Sam opened up the door and stuck his head inside, "Axe," he gently shook her and slowly she sat up.

"You came," she ran a hand through her wet hair.

"Of course I came," Sam said, sliding into the backseat with her and shutting the door, "What the hell happened?"

"I messed up."

"I can see that," Sam nodded, "What were you doing out driving? You don't even have a license."

And then she was crying, sobbing as a matter of fact. So Sam wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. Then is when the stench of alcohol reached his nose and his grip tightened on her as he took a deep breath, "Axel, are you drunk?"

She tried to choke out an answer but she couldn't and her sobs just got more violent so Sam pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

"He already hates me," she said, his chest muffling her words, "He already hates me and now I destroyed his car. He's never going to forgive me."

It broke Sam's heart. He knew that she'd been having a hard time, Dean hadn't shut up about how difficult she had been since he brought her home, but Sam hadn't bothered to talk to Axel about it, he knew he should have, but he couldn't make himself.

"He doesn't hate you, Axel."

"Yes he does," she pulled away from him and wiped her face, "She hates me too, Imogen. My mom, whatever. She's the only real family that I have and she can't even look at me without being miserable."

"Hey," Sam gently turned her face so that she was looking at him, "I am your family. I've been there for you since day one, I'm your family, and Dean's your family."

"Imogen's my blood, Uncle Sam. She's the person that I'm supposed to be closest to in this world. She's my mom, she's supposed to love me and she can't stand me."

"I'm your blood too, Axel. I am your uncle, and even if you and I didn't share the same blood I would still be your uncle because family's got nothing to do with blood. I would love you just as much even if we didn't share blood."

"Dean hates me," she breathed out, "He hates me and I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm not really his daughter and now that I know the truth he's tired of pretending."

"No, Axel. He doesn't. He loves you more than I've ever seen him love anything. You know how many times he told me that he wished that he was your biological father?"

"Probably just so he could actually love me, so that I would be his real daughter."

"No, Axel. He does love you. You are absolutely his real daughter, that's not even up for debate," he let out a sigh, "He wished that you were his biological child that way no one could ever come and take you from him."

"No," she shook her head, "He just felt guilty because he couldn't keep his sister alive. He took pity on me."

"Axel, how can you even think that?"

"Because he ditched me the second that he found out that he was going to be getting his sister back and it took him years to come for me. He didn't miss me, he didn't care that I was gone."

Sam shook his head, "That's not true."

"Then what is?" she demanded, "Why did it take him years to come for me? To bring me home? Why did he wait until I was settled and happy before he came and took that all away again? Why is it that he didn't visit me once, not one single time? You visited. You came to see me. So why couldn't he?"

"He didn't want to leave Imogen alone."

"Why couldn't Castiel have stayed with her? Or you?"

Sam took a deep breath, "Why haven't you asked Dean?"

Now she was quiet.

Sam sighed, "Are you hurt?"

"Not really," she lifted her arm up which was wrapped in a jacket, "My arm smashed the window, it's a little cut up."

"Okay, I'm gonna get you home and to bed and then I'm going to deal with this mess," he looked at her, "Will the car start?"

"No," she shook her head, "And the two passenger tires are flat."

"Okay," Sam gout out of the backseat and helped Axel out, "Then we'll take my car and I'll tow the Impala back tomorrow," he held onto her and walked her over to his car, opening and shutting her door to let her in and then walking over and getting inside and starting it up and heading back to the bunker.

Axel was leaning her head against the window and closing her eyes. The swerving motions of the car were making her nauseous, thankfully they were pretty close to the bunker and it didn't take them long to get home. Once inside the bunker and down the stairs Axel made a mad dash for the bathroom where she found herself bent over a toilet and throwing up. Sam followed her in and tied her long, dark hair out of her face.

"Do you mind if I take a look at your arm while you do that?" he said, pulling out their first aid kit, he took a seat on the ground and slowly unwrapped the jacket from her arm as she continued to vomit into the toilet, "Oh, kid. You really did a number on your arm," he brushed away some dirt and glass.

Finally Axel quit throwing up for the moment and flushed the toilet before leaning up against the bathtub, "Sorry."

"Me too," Sam nodded, "I've gotta get the glass out and then stitch you up."

She groaned, "It's fine."

"Uh, no. It's not," he pulled out the tweezers and started picking the glass out of the gash running up her forearm. With all her whining and flinching it took much longer than it should have and things got much worse when it actually came time to stitch her up.

"Ow, Sam!" she cried out as the needle went into her skin.

"I know it sucks. I'm sorry," he said, sticking the needle back inside of her, slowly making his way up the cut.

"Please, please stop," she cried.

"I can't stop," he explained, making another stitch, "I've gotta finish this. Unless you wanna wake up your dad and go to the hospital."

She bit her lip and endured until Sam was finally done and as soon as he poured the rubbing alcohol on her arm to clean the wound she found herself leaning back over the toilet and vomiting more so from the pain than from the alcohol. Sam gently rubbed her back and started to clean up the mess he had made with the medical supplies.

When Sam looked up from his niece who was still vomiting into the toilet he noticed Dean was standing in the doorway looking quite confused.

"What's going on?" the older of the brother's asked, his tongue feeling very thick in his mouth, "What's wrong with her arm?"

Sam looked from his brother to his niece whose face was now resting on the toilet seat as she was barely conscious and he knew what he had to do.


	45. Chapter Forty-Four

"Dean," Sam stepped out of the room and shut the bathroom door behind him, "Didn't realize we were being so loud, I'm sorry we woke you up."

"Why's she got stitches?" Dean demanded, "What happened to her arm?"

"It's a long story."

"You got a date or something?" Dean snapped, "Spit it the fuck out."

Sam frowned, "Okay, fine. I got back to the bunker a few hours ago and Axel was awake and we were both hungry so I asked her to go get something to eat with me, but the roads were wet and we got into a little accident. Her arm hit the window of the car and she got a little cut up. I stitched her up and she's fine."

"Why the hell is she throwing up?" Dean asked, "Does she have a concussion? Should we take her to the hospital?" then his hands went down to his sides to pat the pockets of his robe, "Where the hell are my keys?" he mumbled.

Sam shook his head, "No, I gave her a couple shots of whiskey so that she wouldn't feel it so much when I stitched her up, guess I overestimated what to give her."

"Are you fucking kidding me, Sam? You got my teen daughter drunk?"

"Come on, it's not like you hadn't knocked back a few at her age."

Dean shook his head, "I can't believe you were so reckless. You could have killed my kid."

"I know, Dean and I'm sorry. I promise tomorrow I'll have the Impala towed here and I'll pay to have it fixed or buy you the parts or whatever you want."

Dean slowly blinked, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sam sighed, Dean was going to be pissed but it was better that he take the fall for it than the girl who already thought that her father hated her, "I took the Impala to get food. My car was running funny and it barely made it home from the hunt."

"You took my car and you crashed it?" his eyes were burning with rage.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I really am."

Dean shook his head, "I can't even look at you right now."

Sam nodded, "Look, I'll get Axel to bed. You go back to sleep, I'll take care of everything."

"No," the older brother barked, "You've done enough. Why don't you go to bed? I'll take care of my daughter."

Sam sighed, "Okay, she's pretty hammered though. I'm not even sure she remembers what happened," he lied to cover his ass for anything the intoxicated minor might say.

Dean shook his head and pushed passed Sam into the bathroom were he easily picked up Axel who was passed out, and he carried her to her room where he covered her with blankets. She looked so small and defenseless laying there in that bed all alone, slowly he bent down and kissed her head.

"I love you," she muttered in her state of drunken delirium.

"I love you too," he sighed, turning and heading out of the room. Once he shut the door and looked up he was toe to toe with his sister, "Oh, hey."

"What's going on?" Imogen asked, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's drunk but she's okay."

Imogen's eyes went wide, "She's drunk? What do you mean she's drunk?"

Dean frowned, "What does it sound like? I really don't know, sis. Sammy got her drunk, they got into an accident, my car's messed up."

Imogen narrowed her eyes and turned on her heel, "Sam!" she yelled through the bunker, "Sam Winchester, come out here, now!"

Dean trotted after his sister.

"What?" Sam asked, coming out of his bedroom.

Without another word Imogen grabbed Sam by his flannel shirt and slammed him up against the wall, which was an impressive feat considering the size difference between the siblings, "What the hell is the matter with you?" she snarled in his face.

Sam's jaw dropped, "Wh-what?" he asked, "What did I do?"

"You got my daughter drunk and then got in a car and wrecked it!"

"N-no!" Sam stuttered, "We had the accident and then I got her drunk," it was a lie, but he was determined to keep his story straight.

"That doesn't make it any better!" but she let go of him, "What the hell is the matter with you?" she repeated.

"Hey, why are you jumping down my throat? You barely even look at the kid. At least I talk to her."

"Hey," Dean barked, "Shut up, Sam."

"No," his voice hit an uncomfortably high pitch, "I'm not gonna shut up," he looked back to his sister, "That girl has been waiting her entire life to meet you, to meet her mother. Then when she finally does her mother wants nothing to do with her."

"Sam, enough," Dean interrupted sternly.

Once again Sam ignored his brother's request, "What do you even have to say for yourself? What did that poor girl do to deserve a mother that hates her?"

Imogen looked away from Sam. This was a long time coming, this whole thing. One of her brother's calling her out on her shit, she had just always expect that it would be Dean, not Sam.

"Say something!" Sam demanded, "Explain yourself some way. Say something that's going to make me understand why you gave your life for that baby girl but you want nothing to do with her now."

Dean was quiet, he too wanted the answer to this question.

Imogen took a deep breath, "Because every time I look at her I remember what a failure I am. How I was weak and I sold my soul. How I ruled Hell, the torture I doled out, the things I did, you guys don't even know the half of it. I look at this girl, she's so perfect and beautiful, and me coming back, that's the thing that hurt her the most. I could have just stayed gone and her life would have been so much goddamn better. She would have been so much better had she just lived out her days thinking that Dean was her father. But I came back and I ruined all of that."

"Sammy and I brought you back, Imogen," Dean finally butted in, "And there's no way in hell that I would have let you around Axel if I didn't think it would be good for her."

"So what are you saying?"

"I think he's saying-" Sam started to answer but Dean cut him off.

"I'm saying it's time to pull your head out of your ass and get to know your kid," Dean explained, "I love you so much, Imogen. But the truth of it is I've let you mope around here long enough. It's time to start putting your life together. I'm gonna be here every step of the way, but it's time. And it's time for you to get to know the amazing daughter that you gave birth to."

Imogen took a deep breath, "It's too late."

Dean shook his head, "No, it's not, Imogen. It's never too late to do the right thing."

Imogen took a deep breath, "She won't like me."

"Yeah, sis she will. She's exactly like you," Dean wrapped his arms around his sister, "She may not look a thing like you, but goddamn it if she isn't your personality twin."

"How do I even start?"

Dean shrugged, "Just talk to her. Get to know her."

Imogen nodded, "Okay," she breathed, "I will. First thing tomorrow."

"Good," Dean patted her shoulder, "Go get some rest."

Imogen nodded and headed into her bedroom.

Once the door was shut Sam looked at his brother, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Dean barked, "I'm good."

"No you're not. You're nothing even resembling good."

"Well that's rude. Where are you manners, Sam?"

"I mean why have you been so cold to Axel?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do," Sam shook his head, "What, are you afraid that she's gonna like Imogen more or something?"

Dean rolled his eyes and left the hallway, heading into the kitchen, Sam following at his heels.

"Dean, do you even know what you're doing to her?" he asked, "She thinks that you don't love her because she's not your biological child."

"Well, she's not. She's not biologically my kid, plain and simple."

"Since when has that ever mattered? Since when has blood made a difference in our lives? I mean, Bobby wasn't our dad but he was our dad."

"Bobby never would have been our dad if Dad hadn't stopped being our Dad," Dean argued, "That's sounds confusing, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, well-"

Dean cut him off, "Imogen's back, Sammy. Imogen is her mother, and that trumps whatever the hell that I am to her."

"No it doesn't!" the larger of the brothers exclaimed, "You're her dad. You are always going to be her dad."

He shook his head and grabbed a beer from the fridge, "Cas is her dad."

Sam groaned loudly, "Dammit Dean! What the hell is the matter with you? She doesn't even know Cas and even if she did that's not going to take away from all of the years when it was just the two of you. Who took her to her first day or school or taught her how to ride a bike? Who taught her how to tie her shoes and shoot a gun? Who taught her how to read and write?" he paused, "Okay, well I taught her how to read and write but that's not the point. My point is just talk to Axel, just ask her. Because you pushing her away like this is wrong, it's absolutely wrong. She loves you so damn much and she thinks that you don't want to be her dad."

Dean popped open his beer and took a drink, "It's for the better."

"Would you stop?"

"No, I won't stop. Because I know sooner or later that Imogen and Castiel are going to be a thing again and then they are going to take Axel and they are going to go be a family together."

"Dean," Sam let out a sigh of absolute irritation, "Axel's not five years old anymore. It's not like she's going to up and forget about everything that you've done for her all of these years."

Dean shook his head, "I don't want to talk about this anymore, Sammy."

"Fine, don't talk to me but talk to Axel. She's so damn lost, Dean. I'm terrified that if we don't get her back on the right track soon …" but he trailed off.

Dean looked away from his brother, "I love her so damn much."

"I know you do, but Dean she doesn't know that. She needs to hear you say it."

Dean shook his head and took another drink of his beer.

"What are you going to tell her when she asks why you never visited her up there after constantly promising that you would?" Sam asked, "You can't keep avoiding the question. It's not like it was when she asked about her mother. You really are going to have to come up with some kind of answer this time."

"The longer I stayed away the easier it was to stay away," he admitted, "The harder it was for me to talk to her, much less see her, because I missed the hell out of her. I wanted to bring her home."

"Then why didn't you?" Sam barked.

"Because I was trying to make sure that it was safe. That Imogen was going to be sticking around. I didn't want to bring her into something that wasn't permanent."

"Are you kidding?" Sam scoffed, "Nothing in our lives is permanent. Hell, the closest she could have had to permanent would have been if you would've left her with Kristen."

"So then maybe I should have done that," Dean snapped, "Maybe I never should have brought her home, just continued lying to her about who she was and who her mother was."

"Well, it doesn't matter now," Sam stated, locking eyes with his brother, "The point is, you need to get it together, just like you told our sister to do. Until then," he shrugged, "She loves you Dean, and she needs you. Remember when this was all starting out and you said that you wanted to be around to answer any questions she had when this whole façade came crashing down?" he didn't wait for an answer, "Well, stick to that. Go and answer her questions instead of letting her come to her own conclusions."

Before Dean had a chance to reply there was a whine from the spotted dog who gently scratched at Sam's pants with his paw.

"What's wrong, Bubble?" Sam asked, letting his hand gently pat her head, "Do you need to go outside?"

She whined louder as a clap of thunder struck.

"Come on," he started heading for the stairs but turned his head to see Bubble laying down and putting her paws over her face.

Dean rolled his eyes, "She's terrified of storms, Sam."

"Okay," Sam walked back over to them and bent down to gently stroke the dog, "It's okay, Bubble."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Come on," he patted his leg as he started to walk back to the bedrooms.

"Where you going?" Sam asked.

"She's wants in there with Axel, it's the only thing that's gonna chill her out," he opened Axel's door and the dog shot inside and jumped up on the bed, turning in a circle three times before plopping down right next to Axel, resting her head on the girl's leg and closing her eyes. Dean slowly shut the door and turned back to Sam, "I'm gonna catch some Z's. I'll talk to you in the morning."

Sam nodded, "Night Dean. At least think about what I said, okay?"

Dean nodded and disappeared inside of his own room and Sam walked down the hall to his as well.


	46. Chapter Forty-five

Axel stumbled barefoot through the bunker, Bubble at her heels. Her throat and mouth were so dry that she could barely swallow and her head was pounding. She wasn't drunk anymore, but she sure was feeling it from the night before. She entered the kitchen and flipped on the light, making her way over to the sink and grabbing a cup and filling it with water before downing it quickly and breathing heavily. Bubble lapped violently at her water bowl that was sitting on the floor.

"Thirsty?" she gently patted her dog's back and then she heard something and she headed back into the main area of the bunker and saw Imogen carrying a bag.

"Hey," Axel said, looking at her mother.

Imogen tensed up and flipped around, "Jesus Christ you scared the Hell out of me."

"Sorry," Axel said, Bubble coming up beside her and standing close, "Figured I was the only one up this early."

Imogen shook her head, "Nah, I didn't really sleep last night," she set her bag on the map table, "I heard you had a pretty rough night."

Axel looked down at her stitched up arm, "Yeah, I guess I did. I don't really remember much of it, if I'm being honest."

"I bet," Imogen smiled.

"Is Dad- Er, is Dean up?"

Imogen frowned, "You don't have to call him Dean," she sighed, "I mean he is your dad."

"Yeah, but it's weird since he's your brother."

"Everything about this family is weird," Imogen explained.

Axel rubbed her aching head.

"Hung over?"

"I guess," Axel shrugged.

Imogen couldn't help but to smile, "I remember the first time I got drunk," she unzipped her bag and pulled out a bottle of pills, opened it and shook a couple out and handed them over to Axel, "Take those, they'll make you feel better. They'll also make you sleep most the day, so be prepared."

Axel took them, almost unable to swallow them because her mouth was so dry, but she managed, "How old were you?" she asked.

"How old was I when?"

"When you first got drunk."

"Oh! I was fifteen, I think. About your age. Dean, he was the one who actually got me drunk."

Axel's eyes went wide, "No way!"

"Yeah," she chuckled, "I had just gotten my first period and I didn't know what a period was and Dean had to explain it to me. He would have made Sammy do it, but Sam was out doing something. So he had to sit me down and explain all the ways of being a woman. He figured the two of us being drunk would make the whole thing a lot easier," she paused, "I mean he wasn't wrong."

"Wow," Axel scratched her head, "Sounds a lot different than the Dean that I grew up with."

"Yeah," Imogen nodded, "Guess he made all of his mistakes on me then. Glad to hear it," she zipped her bag back up.

"Are you going somewhere?" Axel asked, "Dad must not have told me."

"Uh," Imogen sighed, "He doesn't know."

Her heart dropped, "Oh, okay. Well, I won't rat you out or anything," she paused, "It was nice talking to you… I think this is probably the most we've talked since we met."

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, sorry about that. I just… I don't know how to talk to you."

"It's not hard," she said, looking down at her feet, "I've been trying."

"I know," she sighed, "I mean, I don't know how to begin to apologize. All of the suffering and pain that I caused you."

"It wasn't so bad," Axel assured her, "For a long time I felt safe, like nothing bad could happen to me. Dean was my whole world," she sighed, "The only problem was when Dad dumped me off on some stranger," she shook her head, "I mean, I'd never even spent a night away from him, but you probably don't want to hear about all that. Dad or Sam will probably be up soon, if you're gonna go you should do it now. I'm gonna take Bubble outside," she patted her leg for her dog to follow and then headed up the stairs and out of the bunker.

Imogen waited a few moments before she followed, leaving her bag on the map table, "Hey, Axel," she came up behind her, "It's not that I don't want to hear about your life."

"It's okay," Axel shrugged, "You're not interested. You don't want to be my mother, don't worry about it."

Imogen took a deep breath, "It's hard," she admitted, "It's hard to look at you and see everything that I missed out on."

"It's fine," the teen was becoming a bit irritable, "I'm just glad that I can stop trying so hard. You don't care about me."

"No!" Imogen stated, "How can you even say something like that?"

"Because I've been living here for months and you haven't asked me one question about myself or really even said anything to me other than to bitch at me about meeting Castiel."

Imogen felt a chill go through her, but she had no response, Axel wasn't wrong.

"Exactly," Axel nodded.

"I died for you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know that."

"I knew that I was going to die, I knew that having you would kill me. I loved you so much that I didn't care. I wanted you more than I wanted anything."

"No," she shook her head, "You knew you were going to die, so it couldn't have been that you wanted me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know," Axel admitted, "But in all the years that I wondered who my mother was, what she was like, she was never like you."

Imogen frowned, "Well, you're not the first Winchester that I let down," she took a deep breath, "When I was about your age I had a son and he died when he was six months old. I was asleep in the bed right next to him when a monster came in and killed him. I promised myself that I would never have another kid."

"Great, so you never wanted me. That makes me feel so much better," she said apathetically.

"Oh my god, let me finish. You are just like Dean," she sighed, "When I found out I was pregnant with you I had been in a really, really bad place for a long time, you were the only speck of light in a pitch black tunnel. You gave me something to live for and then I found out that having you was going to kill me, but it didn't matter because I knew that you needed to be born. I knew that you were going to bring something amazing and wonderful into this world, and I knew that Dean was going to be the best person to teach you how because he taught me. I wouldn't have stood a chance in this world if it wasn't for him and Sam. I did what I thought was best and I didn't tell anyone that having you was a death sentence, because I loved you so damn much."

"What about now?" Axel asked, "How do you feel about me now?"

"I feel like I failed you."

"You didn't. You weren't here."

"Right, I failed you by coming back. If I had just stayed dead, stayed out of everybody's way then for all your life you would have thought Dean was your dad and you would have been happy and normal."

Axel was silent.

"Everywhere I go people get hurt, and I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have. You are the last person that I ever wanted to hurt."

Axel cleared her throat, trying to stay collected, "Then don't leave. I want to know you and I want you to know me… I mean, if that's what you want. If you want to know me."

Imogen nodded, "Yes, I want to know you more than anything in the entire world."

Axel half smiled, "So you'll stay?"

"Might as well. Pretty sure all my old hunting buddies are dead by now. Hell, I was dead for twelve years," she smiled at her daughter, "Why don't you go inside and go back to sleep. We can get to know each other when you're a little less hungover."

"All right," she smiled, "Bubble!" she called to her dog who came running, "Come on, let's go to bed," the dog followed her inside and Axel shut the door behind her.

Imogen stood outside of the bunker for quite some time, staring at the road, wanting more than anything to take off. Every instinct in her body was telling her to run, run as fast as she could before she damaged her family any more than she already had. But she couldn't because she didn't want to hurt them. The female Winchester closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Castiel," she said lowly, "Come on, I know it's been a while," she felt a gust of wind and when she opened her eyes the angel was standing across from her, smiling warmly.

"Hello," he said deeply, "You're right, it has been a while."

That face, that familiar face did something to her, something that she both hated and loved at the same time, "Hey Cas. You look the same."

"And you look tired."

"Thanks," she smiled at him, "So that kid of ours."

He shifted uncomfortably, "Is she all right?"

"Yeah, just a giant pain in the ass," she chuckled, "Not unlike yourself."

"Need I remind you that you're the one that quite literally jumped out a window at first we met?"

"What the hell did you expect? I was like twelve and you were a creepy old dude."

Castiel actually chuckled, "I wasn't that old."

"I just realized I never thanked you."

"For what?"

"Getting rid of my black eyes," she smiled, motioning towards her face.

"Your eyes were never black, they were golden."

Imogen rolled her currently green eyes, "Okay, then I never thanked you for making me not the queen of Hell, how about that? I'm not sure that Sam and Dean could have done it without you."

"They are very capable men, I'm sure that they would have figured something out."

"Maybe," she nodded.

Castiel looked at her, "Imogen, pardon me if I'm out of line, but is something the matter?"

"No," she paused, "Well, yeah maybe."

"What is it?"

She took a breath, "Can you keep a secret?"

"I am certainly capable."

"I mean will you?"

"Okay."

"I think that there's something wrong with me, Cas."

"Physically?" he questioned, "Are you sick? Maybe I can help."

"No," she shook her head, "I'm not like physically sick or anything. I'm just… I'm having a hard time."

"What do you mean?"

She took a breath, "I'm going through the motions, I'm getting up every day, I'm joking and laughing, but I don't feel anything," she paused, "Except for when I'm around our daughter, or when it has something to do with her, because then I just feel like shit. Today I was going to take off, but Axel caught me. I still want to go, I want to leave here so badly."

"Why do you want to leave?" he asked.

"Because every second I'm near her it gets harder and harder not to feel anything. Sure being numb isn't all fun and games but it's better than remembering every second what a piece of trash mother I am."

"That's not true, Imogen," the angel disagreed.

"When I start to feel things," she took a deep breath, "I remember what it's like to feel, all the guilt and pain and the shame. I don't want that and every time I'm near her it comes back."

"Okay," Castiel nodded, "So you're trying to run to get away from the source of your negative feelings, our child?"

"Yes," Imogen nodded, "What I don't understand is why Axel's the only one who makes me feel this way. Sam and Dean don't," she sighed, "Do you think there's a chance that maybe I don't have a soul or something? Like maybe it's still in Hell?" she asked, almost hopefully though she knew that made less than no sense. If she didn't have a soul there's no way she would be feeling guilty about her child.

Castiel took in everything she was telling him and processed it rather quickly, "No, you have a soul, Imogen."

"Then what's wrong with me? Am I still a demon? Just a little more human than I used to be. Why is it just Axel?"

"You have a soul," he said again, "It was brutalized in Hell, by Crowley. It was stripped down to its barest form of what it was and over and over again. It will take some time for it to repair."

"I've been a human for years now."

"Yes, after more than triple that spent in the barracks of hell," he looked at her, "It feels better now than it did when we cured you, doesn't it?"

"Yes," she nodded, "It does."

"It will take time, and you may never been the same person you left Earth as, but the more time that you spend here the more human you will be."

"It didn't take Dean this long, did it?"

"No," Castiel agreed, "But Dean didn't go through the same things that you did, and he didn't spend as much time as you did with Crowley."

"So then why just Axel?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "I'm quite a bit less in touch with my human side than I was when I was a human."

"So I'm not still a demon?" she asked, "You're absolutely sure about that?"

Castiel shook his head and narrowed his eyes, "Imogen, I'm not sure that I should be telling you this, but I am not convinced that you ever were truly a demon."

"What the hell are you talking about? I was the queen of Hell for fucksake."

"I know that," he nodded, "But in the history as far back as I've existed, which I may remind you predates the universe, there has never been a demon with golden eyes."

"What about Azazel and all of the princes or whatever?"

"They had yellow eyes, nothing like yours."

"Well, there's never been another queen. I was special."

"Yes," Castiel nodded, "You were special, because you were not a demon, not completely."

"How do you even know? What, are you an expert on demons and the supernatural?"

"I have done my research," he assured her, "And I think that I know what happened. It's something that I'm absolutely sure has never happened before, and no angel in creation would believe it to be so."

"What was I then?" she asked, "If not a demon than what?"

"I think you were an angel."


	47. Chapter Forty-Six

Imogen trudged back inside of the bunker, shutting the door behind her. It sure had been a long time since last she spoke to Castiel, and for good reason because that man was always dropping bombshells of information onto them. She headed down the steps to see Dean standing at the table, staring at the bag that she had left there earlier.

"So you're leaving," Dean said as she was coming down the stairs, "Were you even going to say goodbye to me or Sam, or hell, your daughter?"

Imogen sighed as she reached the bottom of the stairs, "No, I wasn't."

"Why would I have thought any different? You never said goodbye before."

"That's bullshit and you know it, Dean."

"No it's not," he shook his head, "It's not bullshit. There were YEARS where Sammy and I had no idea where you were or what you were doing or even if you were alive, so don't you dare say that it's bullshit."

"I said goodbye," she snarled at him, "Just because you didn't want to accept it doesn't mean that I didn't say it."

"Fine, then what about when me, you, and Sammy were all on a hunt and you took off with some goddamn trucker?"

Imogen shook her head, "I cannot fucking believe that you're bringing that up, Dean. My son had just died, I was angry and confused," she shook her head, "Never mind, it doesn't fucking matter. Nothing matters to you except exactly what you see."

"So why aren't you gone?" he demanded, "What are you still doing here?"

Her fist balled up and she shook her head, "Because Axel is my daughter. She is the only thing in this world that matters, and I've already done enough damage, I'm not going to give her any more reason to feel abandoned."

Dean shook his head, "Axel is my daughter."

"I swear to God, Dean! What is with you? One minute you're begging me to get to know her and the next you're so fucking possessive of her. What do you want from me?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "But I do know that I don't want to share her."

"Then you shouldn't have brought me back."

"And then what?" he demanded, "Let you and Crowley destroy the fucking world?" he shook his head, "What's you plan, Sis? Are you gonna take Axel from me? Be her parent? Are you and Castiel going to get married?"

"That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard," his sister muttered under her breath.

"Is it really though? I mean impulsive yeah but you've never really had the best judgment. Hell, I've been waiting for you to pop out another kid to replace the one that I've been taking care of since you left."

Imogen rolled her eyes, "Don't be ridiculous, Dean. I may have been a demon, but I'm not any more. I'm me again, I'm not going to make Axel do anything that she doesn't want to do. And me and Castiel? Are you serious? If that didn't work out when he was newly angel and still knew what it was like to be a human and we were having a kid do you really think that it's going to work out now?"

Dean just shrugged.

"Dean, you're my brother and I love you, but you've got to quit acting like I'm your enemy. The only way I would ever separate you two is if that's what Axel wanted. You are her dad, you've been the one there every day since she was born."

"You're right," he nodded, "I'm sorry. I'm just protective, I don't want her to get hurt again."

Imogen sat down at the map table, "Dean, can I talk to you about something? I don't want to freak you out or get you worried, but I really need to talk to you. Talk to someone that knows me, at least."

Dean sat down next to her, "What's up?"

"I've been having kind of a hard time, since Axel came. It was easy when it was just me, you, and Sammy. We were hunting, it was just like old times. And then you brought Axel back."

"You didn't want me to?" he asked.

"No, I did. I really did. But when I first met her it brought back so much damn pain. Stuff that I hadn't felt since before I was a demon. And when she's gone or when I'm pretending like she doesn't exist things are easy, but when she's near…" she shook her head, "I'm not sad when she's not around. But I am when she is."

Dean frowned, "Imogen."

She shook her head, "Why don't I feel sad when you and Sam are around? I've done way, way worse stuff to you guys than I have to her."

Dean leaned forward and put his hand on her knee, "Because you've put me and Sammy through so much hell you know that we're not holding it against you. Axel, on the other hand, you don't know her. You don't know what kinds of things she might be holding against you."

Imogen was silent but she nodded.

"We are family, all of us. Yeah, there is shit that we've all done that we hate. But at the end of the day family is exactly what we are, and there's no changing that. So going forward, all you've got to do is be there. Be a part of Axel's life. That's all she needs."

"You're right," Imogen agreed, "You're always right."

"How come you didn't talk to me about this sooner?"

"I thought something was wrong with me," she admitted, "I thought maybe I didn't have a soul or something."

Dean's eyes went wide, "What?"

"Yeah, before you brought Axel back I thought everything was okay, but then when she was back there was like this intense amount of sadness that made me realize that I wasn't myself."

"But you have a soul?"

"Yeah, Cas told me so."

"When the hell did you speak to Cas?"

"Just now," she explained, "I was outside talking to him."

"How the hell is he? He's been out of touch for months."

"He seemed fine," she told her brother, "I didn't really ask him anything about himself."

"What did he say about your problem? Did he have any advice?"

"Not really. He just said that my soul was in Hell for a long time and it was going to take a while for it to heal. I probably would never be the same person that I was."

Dean smirked, "Good, because that Imogen was a pain in my ass."

She rolled her eyes, "Eat me, Dean."

Dean chuckled and stood up, "Come on, let's steal Sammy's car and try to track down the Impala. I'm climbing the walls worrying about my baby."

"Sounds good," Imogen stood up, "Let me just throw my bag in my room before Sam comes out and jumps my ass like you did."

Dean nodded, "Meet you out front in ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay," she grabbed her bag off of the table and took it to her room.

Twenty minutes later Dean was pulling off of the road and up next to the Impala which was shoved up against some trees. Dean parked Sam's car and got out, walking over to the Impala, his sister right behind him.

"Damn," Imogen said, assessing the damage, "Those two really did a number on it."

Dean nodded, opening the driver's side of the car and looked inside, "Sammy said she cut her arm open when it slammed against the window and broke it."

Imogen nodded, "That's what I heard."

"The only window that's broken is this one," he gently patted the area where the driver's side window used to be.

Imogen frowned, "So that mean's Axel would have been the one driving."

"Why the hell would Sam be letting her drive on a rainy night? He's not an idiot."

"No," she shook her head, "I don't think that he was letting her drive."

"Huh?"

"Think about it, Sammy didn't have a scratch on him, did he? And we're looking at the same car, right? If Sammy had been in here he'd have a few bumps and bruises," she met her brother's eye, "I don't think Sam was in the car at all. Dean, I think Sam's covering up for Axel doing all of this herself."

"Why the hell would he do something like that?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "But think about it, would Sam have gotten her drunk in the first place? No chance in hell. I think she was drunk and she was driving and had an accident and Sam covered it up."

Dean took a deep breath, "I think you're right," he shook his head, "I'm going to kill them both, I swear to god."

"Well, before you do that we should probably call a tow truck or something," the younger of the Winchesters suggested.

Dean looked back inside, "And it rained all night, the whole fucking interior is soaked."

Imogen gently patted him on the back, "I'll call a tow truck," she said, walking off to make the call.

Dean looked at his wrecked car and shook his head. He was tired of this, tired of all of this. All the lying and hiding and everything. All of his life it he wasn't lying to Sam then Sam was lying to him or it was Imogen. It was always something with them.

"Tow truck is on the way," Imogen said, walking back over a few minutes later.

"Who even cares?" Dean spat, "I don't. I don't give a damn."

Imogen frowned, "It's your baby."

Dean shook his head, "It's just a car. Axel could have been killed and Sammy didn't bother to say anything to me," he let out a breath, "I need to get out of here. I can't look at this car anymore."

"Okay," Imogen nodded, "You go, and I'll stay here and wait for the tow truck and get the car home. Call me if you need me, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, heading back to Sam's car and taking off.

Imogen shook her head and sighed. While she was waiting she picked up her phone and called Sam, he answered on the fifth ring and his voice was very groggy.

"Hello?" he grunted.

"Did I wake you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Good. Because Dean's royally pissed off at you, and I'm not sure but I think that he's heading back your way to shove his foot up your ass."

"What the hell did I do?"

"Well, for starters you lied to us."

"Huh?" he asked, his brain obviously wasn't awake yet.

"You weren't driving. Axel was. So either you let her drive or you had no idea."

"Ugh, dammit," he groaned, "Look, she was in a bad space last night and she didn't need to be giving Dean any more excuses to yell at her. I took the fall, I was just trying to help."

"Yeah, well Dean isn't actually going to see it that way, so you better come up with a damn good excuse for why you did it."

"Where are you?" Sam asked.

"I'm waiting by the Impala for the tow truck."

"And where's Dean?"

"Not sure. He was pretty upset, so he's either on his way to kick your ass or he's headed to some skeevy bar. But it's like eight in the morning so there's probably no bars open."

"Okay," Sam groaned, "Okay, I'll go wait out front for him so Axel doesn't hear it."

"Sounds like a plan. Have fun."

"Thanks," Sam said before hanging up the phone.

Imogen slid her phone back into her pocket and checked out the damages on Baby. It was bad, but certainly not as bad as Imogen had seen it before. It could definitely be fixed. And it would be, whether Dean helped or not. Imogen was going to clean up this mess.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Okay Castiel. Just give me a couple of months and then come for me. I'll do what you want me to do, I just need a little bit of time to get some personal shit taken care of," she felt a little tingle, which she was pretty sure was his response and she looked up when she saw the tow truck pulling onto the side of the road. She walked over and spoke to the guy, then they loaded the car up onto the bed of the truck and Imogen hopped in the truck and they drove back to the bunker.


	48. Chapter Forty-Seven

" _She needs your help."_

Those four words from Sam were all it took to get Kristen on a plane travelling from Alaska to Kansas, renting a car, and showing up at the bunker. She didn't ask, didn't tell anyone, she just did it. No question about it. Kansas was where she needed to be. As she was pulling into the bunker in her rental car the first thing she saw was the wrecked Impala. She didn't know what happened to it, but something told her she wasn't going to like the answer. Then she got out of her car and headed to the bunker door, pounding her fist against it just to make sure that someone inside would hear. And they did, two minutes later Imogen was answering the door.

For whatever reason Kristen wasn't expecting that, nope. Not at all. "Imogen," she breathed out.

Imogen narrowed her eyes at the woman, "What are you doing here?" she shook her head, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Just no one told me you were coming," she sighed and stepped aside, "Come in."

Kristen nodded and headed inside and down the steps… Damn it had been a long time since she had been here and she wasn't too surprised that it looked mostly the same. "Where is everyone?" she questioned.

"Sam and Axel are at the store and Dean's passed out in his room."

Kristen nodded and checked her watch, "It's like two PM," but then from the corner of her eye noticed a spotted dog bouncing over to her, "Bubble!" she squealed happily and bent down to stroke the dog who was obviously happy to see her.

Imogen nodded, "Yeah, he's had a not so good few days. Axel got drunk and wrecked the Impala and," she shook her head, "Never mind."

"Axel did what?" Kristen slowly got to her feet, her eyes wide, "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?"

Imogen just kind of stood there and blinked at her.

"I'm sorry," Kristen apologized, "I just… I think of her like a daughter. I know you're her mother but I still… I'm sorry," she breathed out.

"It's okay," Imogen assured the woman, "I know that you and I didn't get off to the greatest of starts back before I died, but I appreciate you being there for Axel."

"It was my pleasure," Kristen said with a smile, "She's a great kid. Though I guess I don't have to tell you that."

Imogen sighed and looked away, "Yeah, I don't really know."

Kristen was silent.

"We don't really talk," Imogen admitted, "All she does is fight with Dean. She's just so fucking pissed off all the time and I get it. I get why she's pissed, she was happy and thriving and she thought you were her mom and she loved you and then she found out all of that shit was a lie… I get it."

A small sigh escaped Kristen, "Imogen, I can't even imagine what you're going through right now, but I do know what it's like to feel like you lost a child… Especially one you never had. When Dean dropped Axel off with me the only reason I took her was because Dean asked me to do it. It broke my damn heart thinking he'd had a baby with another woman, but I still did it. And I fell in love with her. She's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know that she'll be the best thing that ever happened to you too."

"I hope so," Imogen said with a nod, "I really hope so," she quickly switched gears, "Anyways, did Sam and Dean know you're coming?"

"No," Kristen shook her head, "I didn't even know I was coming until I was here."

"You sound just like a Winchester. It's amazing to me that we didn't get along better before I died."

Kristen couldn't help but to laugh, "Before I died is such a Winchester thing to say. But honestly, not that surprising. I was kind of a jealous bitch."

"Yeah, you were," Imogen agreed, "But so was I."

Now Kristen took a deep breath, "I just hope that now you and I can get along… For Axel's sake."

"Hey, I think getting along with you is the best way of getting my daughter to not absolutely hate me."

Kristen sighed, "Well, I'll do what I can. So when are they supposed to be back?" but Imogen didn't get a chance to answer before the front door to the bunker was being opened and Axel and Sam were coming down the stairs.

Once Axel reached the foot of the stairs and saw Kristen standing there she dropped her bags, a carton of eggs breaking, and launched herself at Kristen. "You didn't tell me you were coming!" she screeched.

Kristen laughed and wrapped her arms around the girl, "I didn't know!" she assured the girl.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too kiddo."

"How long are you staying?"

"I don't really know," Kristen replied, looking up at Sam who walked over and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're here," he breathed happily, still holding groceries.

"Me too," Kristen agreed.

"Me three," Axel squeaked.

Then everyone was looking to Imogen who sighed and nodded, "Yeah, so am I," and then there was a communal sigh of relief.

"Hey," Kristen cleared her throat, "Is Dean still in the same room?"

Sam nodded, "You gonna go wake him up?"

"Yep," she agreed before heading down the familiar, but oddly unfamiliar hallway to his door. She knew the number, knew that this was going to be his room, but still she hesitated before turning the knob and heading inside. He was snoring on the bed, still fully dressed and she sighed softly. She left the door open so that the light from the hallway would illuminate the room and she wouldn't accidentally trip over something. Kristen bent down and lay her hand on his shoulder and gently shook him, "Dean," she whispered softly, still shaking him, "Dean, wake up. I'm pregnant with your baby," which obviously wasn't true but hey it worked because he immediately opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Huh?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "Kris? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Didn't you hear me?" she questioned, "I'm having your baby, and I thought you should know."

"But… we haven't… in years. What's going on?"

Kristen laughed and flipped the light on, causing the man to wince in pain, "I'm just screwing with you Dean. It's not your baby," she sat next to him on the bed.

"You're pregnant?"

Again she shook her head, "No, again I'm just screwing with you."

"Did I know you were coming?"

"Nope," she said with a smile, "I was a surprise."

He nodded slowly, "Is everything okay?"

"You tell me," she replied, "What's going on with that kid of mine… yours…" okay, actually neither of those were true, "Axel, what's going on with her? Imogen said she got drunk and crashed the Impala?"

Dean groaned and stretched but didn't get up, "Imogen? You talking to Imogen? That couldn't have gone well."

"It went fine," Kristen explained, "She was pleasant, I was pleasant, it was fine." Dean nodded slowly and grabbed the bottle of beer that was sitting on his bedside table and went to take a drink but before he got a chance Kristen snatched it out of his hand, "You're hitting the bottle as soon as you wake up?" she questioned, getting up and pouring it out, "The hell is the matter with you?"

"Bite me," Dean grumbled unhappily, heading out of his bedroom.

Kristen was right behind him and they wound up back in the room with Sam and Imogen and Axel.

"Dad," she said softly, looking away, "You're up."

"Yeah," he nodded slowly, this was actually the first he'd seen his daughter since he'd found out about the Impala two days prior. Slowly he approached and gently grabbed her arm, "Are you keeping this clean?" he asked, unwinding the bandage from it and inspecting the stitches Sam had given her.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered out, "I'm trying anyways."

"Does it hurt?" he questioned, finally meeting her eyes.

"A little," she said with a nod.

"Well good. Maybe that'll teach you not to be an idiot next time."

"Dean!" Sam barked loudly, "What the hell is the matter with you?"

Axel jerked her arm away from Dean, which actually popped one of her stitches, but she didn't notice, "Bet you would have been happy if it had killed me!" she snapped angrily, evoking a growl from the on looking dog as she turned on her heel and headed back up the steps, Bubble right behind her and the two headed out of the door together.

"The fuck is the matter with you?" Kristen barked at the man, his brother and sister looking on angrily as well.

"What? She made a stupid decision. She needs to know how stupid it was."

"She knows that!" Sam barked, "Jesus Christ, Dean."

"Someone should go after her," Imogen announced.

"NO!" Sam and Kristen shouted in unison.

"Wait, why not?"

Kristen and Sam exchanged looked before Kristen spoke up, "She needs a few beats to cool off. If she's not back in an hour then yeah, we should go and find her but she's got a temper."

"Remind you of anybody?" Dean muttered, and he and Sam both looked to Imogen.

"What?" Imogen questioned, "I never took off."

"Never?" Dean argued, "I can think of dozens of times you took off and then I would chase after you and you would go full on psycho."

Imogen just rolled her eyes, "Ah bite me."

With everybody taking a seat at the map table and making themselves comfortable as they were sure it was going to be a bit before Axel got back, but wanted to be there when she did.

"So what the hell happened?" Kristen asked again, "What's going on with Axel and drinking and driving?"

"Man," Dean sighed, "I don't even know. The kid is just pissed off all the damn time and she won't talk to me and-"

Sam cut him off, "What do you mean she won't talk to you? All that kid does is try to talk to you," the younger of the brother's argued, "It's that you don't listen to her."

"Are you kidding? I do nothing but listen to her! It's not my fault she doesn't make any damn sense."

Sam let out a loud groan and looked back to Kristen, "How the hell did you ever put up with him?"

Kristen couldn't help but to laugh, "You tell me, you've been doing it since birth. Besides, talking wasn't really our strong suit either if you catch my drift."

"Imogen, help me out here," Dean pleaded.

Imogen sighed, "Look, Dean I don't know how you are with Axel, but I remember how you were with me when I was her age. You've never really been a great listener."

"The hell are you talking about?" the oldest brother snapped, "I always listened."

"Okay, maybe you listen. Maybe your ears pick up the words that we're saying to you but you never, never made me feel heard. It was like I would talk at you and then you would just dismiss my feelings because I was a kid and you knew what was best."

"You were a kid and I did know what was best."

"Yeah, okay maybe that's true. But I don't think you realize how damn frustrating it is talking to someone who doesn't care how you feel because they're just going to go and do whatever the hell they want anyway because they think they know best. You never talked to me, not really. You just made the decisions and I was expected to go along with them."

"But that's just part of being a kid! Our dad did the same thing to me and Sammy, you don't hear me complaining about it."

"Yeah, not you but Sam sure the hell did. He got the fuck away from Dad as soon as he could. That's exactly what I did with you, and it's what Axel's gonna do too if you keep acting like her damn drill sergeant instead of her father."

Sam sighed softly, "I hate to admit it Dean, but Imogen's not wrong here. You have been acting a lot like Dad."

"Are you kidding me?" Dean snapped, "That kid used to love me! She and I used to be closer than anything. Now you're telling me that I'm like a tyrant?"

"You were different before," Sam explained, "You actually used to talk to her instead of barking orders at her. It was like when you brought her back here and things didn't immediately go back to the way they were when she was a little kid you gave up."

"I would never give up on her," he snapped, "She's my daughter."

"Of course you wouldn't give up on her," Kristen interjected, "You just forgot how to be a dad."

"I think it was the hunting," Imogen stated, "I mean, even I can see you're a totally different person today than you were the day you cured me. You're harder, more closed off."

Dean felt himself sinking back against the chain he was in, crossing his arms over his chest, and wishing more than anything he could go grab his bottle of whiskey or a beer and tune everybody out. But he couldn't because they were all right.


	49. Chapter Forty-Eight

Axel hadn't meant to get as far away from the bunker as she did, but she was angry and she was just walking until she was deep into the wooded area. She wasn't exactly sure where she was when she dropped down on the ground, her back up against a tree, and buried her head in her hands. Bubble was laying alongside her, and the two stayed there for a long while… Actually, Axel wasn't sure just how long they were there before Bubble started growling. That's what got Axel's attention and she looked up to see the same man in the dark clothes.

"Hello Darling. Long time no see," he said in that chilling accent that had haunted her dreams for years. Bubble was on her feet, growling at the man and standing protectively in front of Axel. "Hello puppy," the man smiled at the dog and offered his hand out to be sniffed and was immediately bitten, "Bad doggy," he shook his head and with a snap of his bloodied fingers there was a sickening crack and the dog was laying completely still on the ground.

"No!" Axel screaming, launching herself forward so she was hovering over her lifeless dog, "What did you do?"

"Don't worry, she's just sleeping."

"She's dead!" Axel screamed back at the man, jumping to her feet and raising her injured arm to punch him, however she didn't get a chance because he grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully to get a look at it, causing the girl to let out a scream of pain, "Let go of me!"

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You killed my dog!"

"She bit me first," he reasoned, still holding onto her arm with one hand before pulling a small bag out of his pocket and sprinkling some dust on her wound, "Tui Gratia Jovis Gratia Sit Cura!"

There was a sharp, but short pain in her arm and in an instant the gash and the stitches had disappeared and she ripped her arm away from him, "What the hell did you do?"

"Just a touch of magic, Love."

Axel took a step back from him, "Who are you?"

"The name's Crowley."

"You're not real," she stated, "I must be asleep."

"Like last time when you tried to shoot me? No, I'm real this time. Promise."

"What do you want?"

"I want to help you."

Axel was silent, still staring at him.

"You're miserable, your family is miserable. However, they weren't before you came back. Before you came back they were happy. They were actually a family."

"What are you saying?" Axel replied, looking down at her feet.

"Oh love, you know what I'm saying. You're making your family miserable. They were doing a lot better before you came along and wrecked it all."

Axel had her arms wrapped around herself, "I know," she said softly, sinking back down on the ground, her back up against a tree, "I ruined everything.

Crowley squatted down in front of her, "You know they would all be better off if you weren't around, don't you?"

Slowly she looked up at him, "I know," she nodded shakily.

"If you weren't around they could be happy again. You're a smart girl, you know what you should do, right?"

"Kill myself."

Crowley scoffed, "No, no darling. Nothing like that. Why don't you come with me?"

"I don't even know you."

"But we're family."

Axel looked up at him and crinkled her brow.

"You don't know this, but I'm sort of like your step-father."

"Huh?"

"I'm married to your mother."

"Kristen?" she questioned, "She didn't mention you."

Crowley couldn't help but to laugh, "No, your biological mother."

"She didn't mention you either."

"Of course not. She wants to pretend like I'm not real. She wants to pretend like it's before when you didn't exist, when it was just her and those Winchester brothers. Which is why you should come with me, because I don't want to pretend like you don't exist. Never have, that's why I've been keeping an eye on you, that's why I've been talking to you through your dreams."

Axel nodded slowly, "Are you an angel?"

Crowley let out a laugh, "Not quite darling. But as I said, I'm looking out for you. And unlike the rest of your family I actually want you around. So what do you say? Do you want to come with me? As I said, your family will be happier," he offered out his hand.

Axel looked from her dead dog laying just a few feet from her and then to the man squatting right in front of her and she took his hand. And in an instant they were somewhere else. It was dark, but not pitch black or anything. Crowley was still standing at her side and she flinched when she spotted a man walking down the long corridor, his eyes were pitch black. Now, Axel hadn't really been around too much of the supernatural, but she knew enough to know that black eyes meant a demon. "Crowley," she whispered softly, clinging to him, "That's a demon."

He gave her a look but put an arm around her as he led her down the corridor to a large set of doors, "I know, love. Everyone here is a demon… Well, and tortured souls, but you shouldn't see any of those," with a flick of his wrist the set of doors blew open to reveal a very royal looking bedroom and he ushered Axel inside, shutting the door behind them, "I want you to stay in here," he stated, "Do not, under any circumstances leave. I will have one of my subjects bring you something to eat. If you need anything else let them know, but do not leave. It is not safe."

Axel narrowed her eyes at him, "Subjects?"

"Yes, darling. I am the King."

"I-I want to go home," she announced, "I don't want to be here."

Crowley laughed softly, "You don't need to worry. I will keep you safe."

"I don't care," she barked, "I want to go home."

"To what? A fake father who wants nothing to do with you and a real mother who doesn't even like you?"

It wasn't Sam or Imogen or even Kristen who were the first to worry about Axel's whereabouts. It was Dean. Of course it was Dean. He cared more about her than he did his damn self. He cared more about everyone than he did about himself, but that's not really the point. So when she wasn't back after ten minutes he started to panic, but at Sam's insistence (something the younger brother would later come to regret) he waited an hour before the four of them went to search for the girl.

"It's gonna get dark soon. We should split up," Dean announced when they were all standing outside of the bunker, "Em, you're with me," he motioned to his sister to follow him into the woods.

Kristen looked to Sam, "Guess I'm with you."

Sam nodded and the two headed in the opposite direction.

"Think she went far?" Kristen questioned, "She's really not one to take off."

"Nah," Sam shook his head, "I think that she's hiding out somewhere to get back at Dean. Everything this girl is doing is to get back at Dean for … I don't know, lying to her her whole life, uprooting her not only once but twice. It's been a damn nightmare here am I'm glad you're here to … I don't know, help even things out."

"I'm glad I'm here too," Kristen agreed, "I just wish I had known how bad things had gotten. I would have been here sooner."

"I didn't even know how bad things were," Sam admitted, "I've kinda been gone a bit and I didn't realize until the other night when she wrecked the Impala."

"What did happen there?" Kristen questioned as the two were walking through the forest, searching for the girl, "You were pretty vague on the phone."

Sam sighed and shook his head, "I really don't know. I was coming back from a hunt and she called me to come and get her, thank god I was almost home so I picked her up, she was really messed up. It was bad. I took her back to the bunker and fixed her up and I tried to take the rap for her because I thought she was already dealing with enough but Dean figured it out and yeah. Hasn't been great."

"I can see that," Kristen agreed and the two continued their search.

"Axel!" Dean's voice boomed through the trees, "Axel where the hell are you?"

Imogen sighed, "Maybe if you call the dog?" she suggested.

"Bubble!" Dean called even louder, "Jesus, I can't believe she took the hell off. She's gonna get lost or eaten by a damn coyote or something. It's almost dark."

"I know, Dean," Imogen groaned, "But I don't know, maybe if you hadn't called her a dumbass she wouldn't have felt the need to take off."

"I didn't call her a dumbass," he muttered, looking back and forth between the trees.

"No, that's true. You called her an idiot. Not any better."

"Well she was acting like one. Who the hell gets drunk and gets behind the wheel?"

"You," Imogen snapped, "More times than I can count growing up. You just got lucky because you never wrecked the damn car when you were drunk."

"Look. I don't need you lecture. Already got enough of it inside. Now help me look for your damn kid."

"You raised her," Imogen mumbled before her eye caught on to something and a chill ran through her body, "Oh no," she breathed, breaking off from Dean and running over to the spotted dog laying in the grass. She dropped to her knees and lay her hand on the animal, "Dean!" she called her brother over.

Dean headed over to her and cursed softly when she saw the dog, "What happened?" he flinched when a foul odor met his nose.

"I don't know," Imogen replied, rubbing her head that had just started to ache.

"Wait," Dean bent down and noticed a bright yellow powder on the dog and the smell made sense, "That look like sulfur to you?"

Imogen groaned rocking back so that she was sitting in the dirt, "No, no, no," now there was a white, hot pain searing into her brain.

"Em," Dean turned to his sister, "What's going on?"

Everything was dark, everything, and then suddenly it wasn't. Imogen could see herself completely and totally, but there was nothing other than her until there was Crowley.

"Hello my queen."

Imogen narrowed her eyes at the man, "What did you do with my daughter?"

"I stuck to our plan," Crowley explained, "You were supposed to grab her and bring her back, we were supposed to be a family. I'm just making sure that still happens."

"No!" Imogen barked, shaking her head, "I don't want to be with you. I don't want Axel being with you. I want you to give her back to me now."

"I tell you what," Crowley said with a smile, "You come to hell and you can be with her. As you know, I can't force you to come. But if you do come of your own free will then you can be with her."

But then she was being shaken and she opened her eyes to see her brother right there. "Are you okay?" he demanded loudly.

Imogen blinked a few times before being able to focus on Dean, "It's Crowley," she stated, letting Dean help her to her feet, "He's got her."

"Yeah," Dean said with a nod, "I kinda figured that one out."

"We need to get back," she cleared her throat, "Find Sam and Kristen."

"Okay, you're right," he slowly bent down and lifted the dead dog into his arms.

"What are you doing?" his sister asked.

"Something tells me Bubble died protecting our kid," he stated, "I'm not just gonna leave her out here."

Imogen nodded and pulled her phone out of her pocket, dialing Sam's number, "Hey, get back to the bunker ASAP," she barked into the device when he brother picked up, and hung up before he had the chance to ask any other questions and she was running and Dean was moving as fast as he could while still carrying the dog.

It was less than ten minutes later when they were all meeting back up.

"What's going on?" Sam asked before spotting Dean carrying the dog, "What the hell happened? Where's Axel?"

"Crowley has her," Imogen replied.

"What happened to the dog?" Kristen demanded.

"I don't know for sure," Dean said, slowly lowering her down onto the ground, "I think she was trying to protect Axel. She died like a hunter, she deserves to go out like one."

"You're gonna burn her?" Sam questioned, "It's not like dogs come back and haunt people."

Dean glared at his brother, "I didn't ask for your help or you opinions, but thanks for the support Sam."

"I'm just saying we should really be finding Axel, we don't have time for this right now."

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "We should. So why don't you guys get on that while I take care of this."

Sam let out a breath of frustration, "Fine. I'm gonna call Cas."

Dean narrowed his eyes at the man, "What? Why?"

"We need all the help we can get. Cas is an angel, he's got a better chance of finding her than anyone else. It's a no-brainer."

Imogen nodded, "I agree."

Dean picked the dog back up and walked off without another word.

Sam sighed and shook his head before turning to Imogen, "Can you call him?" he questioned,  
"He always liked you and Dean better."

Imogen nodded and closed her eyes, "Cas, it's me… We need your help. Crowley's got Axel."

There was a rush of air and Castiel appeared before all of them, "What's going on?" he demanded sternly.


	50. Chapter Forty-Nine

"Am I… Am I dead?"

The thickly accented voice let out a chuckle, "Well, you are in Hell darling."

"What did I do?" Axel questioned, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, "Is it… is it because I'm gay?"

Crowley laughed heartily, "Oh no sweetheart, I had no idea you were gay."

Axel was trembling, "What did I do?"

"The simple fact that you exist is a stain on the world. You have no idea what you are, do you?"

Axel sucked in a sharp breath, "What's going to happen to me?"

"Nothing so long as your mother gives me what I want."

"What do you want?"

"Her," the man replied, "I want my queen back at my side to rule Hell until the end of eternity."

"You-your queen?" She stuttered.

"Yes, your mother is my queen. But we wanted to bring you along to Hell with us, she insisted on keeping you safe. She was supposed to grab you and bring you home, but humanity got to her so I've got to convince her to come back."

"I'm losing my damn mind!" Dean barked, "I can't just sit here and wait. I've gotta go out, I've gotta do something."

"Well what the hell can you do?" Sam snapped, "Cas is out there looking over literally the entire world for her, Jody put out an APB on her, but you know as well as I do that Crowley's got her locked up somewhere that we're not gonna find her. Yeah Crowley's a bag of dicks but he's not an idiot."

"Well then let's find the son of a bitch and rip him limb from limb!"

"How do you want to find him?" Sam retorted, "Hell is so damn heavily guarded. Crowley's got hell on his side again… they only want one thing."

"No," Dean barked lowly, "They're not taking Imogen back. There's no way."

"Why not?" Imogen said, rounding the corner, "If he wants me he can have me if that means Axel is safe."

"No," Dean stood up from where he was sitting at the map table, "We're not sacrificing you."

"Why do you always get to make all of the decisions? Who the hell knows what Crowley is doing to Axel right now?"

"You said yourself that he wasn't going to hurt her. You said he couldn't," Dean reasoned.

"No, he can't torture her. But he could be poisoning her mind, brainwashing her. Who the fuck knows what he's got going on down there? At least if I was there I could make sure that she was safe. This is all my fault anyways."

"So what," Dean snapped "You just want to waltz back into hell and become the queen again? Because I can guarantee Crowley isn't going to just switch off. He wants the both of you."

"Oh my god, Dean. You think I don't know that? But I'm not hearing any better ideas coming out of your mouth right now. At least if I'm there with her she'll be safe."

"No, fuck that," he snapped, "She's not going to be safe being raised by two demons and you guys taking over the world together."

"Can you both just shut up for five minutes?" Kristen snapped angrily, "Jesus Christ I can't even think straight."

Both Dean and Imogen went silent.

"Look, Imogen I know you've got that Winchester blood that's telling you that you have to sacrifice yourself but that's not going to fix a damn thing. So maybe if we all just put our heads together for five minutes we'll be able to figure this shit out."

"I second that," Sam stated, knocking back the rest of his beer, "Look, what if the four of us plus Cas invade hell? Go in and take Axel."

"Really Sammy?" Dean scoffed, "You really think that's going to work? How many demons do you think are in Hell that the five of us will be able to take on?"

Sam simply glared at his brother and would have had some kind of a snappy comeback but instead was interrupted by Castiel's reappearance in the bunker, "Cas," the man stated, "Please tell us you have news."

"Yes," the angel stated with a nod, "I've made contact with Axel, or I suppose a more accurate statement would be that she made contact with me."

"What?" Dean screeched, "You have? How in the hell did you do that?"

"She prayed to me. Now as you know I cannot locate her the way that I can most people, but she prayed to me and she told me what was going on to the best of her knowledge."

"Is she okay? Is she hurt?" Kristen demanded.

"No, she's not hurt physically. Very shaken up though," he slowly turned to face Imogen, "Crowley wants you to return to Hell and resume your spot at his throne."

"We already know that, Cas. She's not doing that," Dean stated, "It's not happening. No way."

But Castiel wasn't looking at Dean and he certainly wasn't acknowledging his statement, "Imogen, you know what you have to do don't you?"

Her whole body went numb, for she was sure of what she would have to do. She just thought that she would have a little more time to do it. He had told her about it just a few days ago on the day after Axel had wrecked the impala and Imogen had wanted to run away, she had called on Castiel for help, and he gave her much more than she had asked for.

" _Imogen," he had taken a step towards her on that cool morning, "I am not convinced that you ever were a demon."_

 _She had scoffed with surprise, "What are you talking about? I was the queen of Hell for fucksake."_

 _"I know that, but in the history as far back as I've existed, which I may remind you predates the universe, there has never been a demon with golden eyes."_

 _"What about Azazel and all of the princes or whatever?"_

 _"They had yellow eyes. Nothing like yours."_

 _"Well, there's never been another queen. I was special."_

 _"Yes," the angel had agreed with her, "You were special, because you were not a demon, not completely."_

 _"How do you even know? What are you an expert on demons and the supernatural?"_

 _"I have done my research," he had assured her, "And I think that I know what happened. It's something that I'm absolutely sure has never happened before, and no angel in creation would believe it to be so."_

 _"What was I then?" she asked, "If not a demon then what?"_

 _"I think you were an angel."_

 _A loud laugh had escaped the woman, "Ah come on man. I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you and you're blowing smoke up my ass."_

 _Castiel shook his head, "I am being serious. Yes, you were a brutalized and demonized version of an angel, that's why the holy water and the devil's traps worked on you, but Imogen you were an angel. I could feel it, I can still feel it."_

 _"Why are you telling me this, Cas?"_

 _"Because you need to know."_

 _"Why?" she had demanded, "Why in the hell do I need to know this?"_

 _"Because you know as well as I do that Crowley isn't going to stop until he has you back, and that means that Hell will take over the Earth. The entire host of Heaven will not be able to stop them."_

 _She turned around and shook her head, "There's nothing I can do except stay away from him, Cas."_

 _"No, there is something else that you can do. Imogen, you are stronger than Crowley. We both know that, and I know that he knows that. Which is why the two of you together, you're unstoppable."_

 _Imogen didn't say anything, still didn't turn to face him._

 _"You, as an un-demonized angel, can take over hell and you can rule it yourself."_

 _She scoffed, "You really think that Crowley is just going to step aside and let that happen?"_

 _"Of course not," he said with a shake of his head as he grabbed her shoulder and he turned her around, "You will have to kill him."_

 _Her jaw dropped, "I-I can't. I can't kill him."_

 _"Yes you can," Castiel began, "In fact, you are the only one who CAN kill him. You are the only one that he will be able to trust enough to let you get close enough to do it, which is precisely why you have to be the one to do it."_

 _"I can't rule hell," she argued, "I don't want to rule Hell."_

 _"We all do things that we don't want to do," he reasoned, "We don't do them because we want to, we do them because it's the right thing to do, and an angel ruling hell well it's the best option. I have full faith in your ability to rule it fairly and safely, with no risk of an uprising. You can do this, Imogen. I know that you can and I know that you will, because we both know that this is the only option if we want to keep the world safe… If we want to keep Sam and Dean and our daughter safe. We have to do this."_

 _Imogen shook her head, "Cas, don't ask this of me. I'm just… I'm just getting back everything that I lost."_

 _"I wouldn't be asking you this if I thought that there was any another way. If we don't do this then you will absolutely lose everything all over again, forever. There will be nothing except chaos and Armageddon. Is that what you want for your child and your brothers?"_

 _Imogen had paused briefly and run her hand through her hair, "No, it's not… Just give me a little time to think about this, Cas… can you at least do that?"_

 _"We don't have time. We have to act now."_

 _"I just need a little time to process this!" she snapped at him._

 _"You better process it fast. Let me know when you have decided," he said before he vanished._

 _Several hours later Imogen had told Castiel that she would do it, but she had just needed a little while to prepare, get things right with her family, all of that good stuff. But apparently the time was now._

"Imogen," Dean's voice cut through Imogen's memory, "What the hell is Cas talking about?"

But Imogen didn't look to Dean, she just kept her eyes on the angel, "You're right, Cas. This is the only way to keep everyone safe and I want to do it."

"What's going on here?" Dean demanded, walking over and stepping in front of his sister so that she would be forced to look at him, "Imogen, talk to me."

"Dean, move," she stated, "I'll explain when I can but right now we have to get a move on."

"No, we're not doing anything until someone tells me what in the hell is going on here."

"I second that," Sam said, getting up and walking over, "We're all in this together."

"Imogen," Kristen breathed, "Talk to us. We can sort this out."

But with a flick of his wrist Castiel sent the others flying across the room into the wall and his angel blade dropped from the sleeve of his coat into his hand, "Are you ready?" the blue eyed angel questioned.

Imogen took a deep breath, "Almost," she said, taking a step towards him, her hand gently grabbing the back of his neck to pull him closer to her level, and kissing him deeply and confusing everyone else besides the two of them. When finally the kiss broke Imogen was breathing heavily and so was Cas despite the fact that he didn't actually need to breath, "Now I'm ready," she assured him."

The reflection of the light on the metal of Castiel's blade temporarily blinded Dean from seeing it piercing his sister's chest, but not Sam. Sam was on his feet and across the room in the blink of an eye, but it was too late and she was lying on the floor and the bloody blade remained in Castiel's clenched fist even when the larger of the Winchester brother's tried to wrestle it away from him. With a simple touch Sam was rendered unconscious, but Dean wasn't.

"What the hell did you do?" Dean yelled desperately in disbelief.

"Don't worry," Castiel assured Dean, "She will wake soon."

"Soon? She's gonna wake soon?" his voice broke, shakily getting to his feet with the familiar pain of a broken rib shooting through him as he reached out a hand to help Kristen up as well, "You stabbed her in the fucking chest and now you're telling me that she's going to wake up soon?"

"Yes," Castiel assured the man, "And in a few hours when she wakes she will be able to fix everything."

"Cas you better tell me what the fuck is going on and you better tell me now," the only conscious Winchester demanded.

"I will," he agreed, "In good time," he said with a nod, laying a hand on both Kristen and Dean's heads to simultaneously heal their wounds and knock them unconscious as well. When they woke both Castiel and Imogen would be gone.

Imogen thought that she would feel nothing. She thought that the transformation from a human into a full-fledged angel would be as simple as going to sleep and waking up, spoiler alert: it wasn't. It burned, it stung, and it felt like there were thousands of cars driving over your body one by one. Long story short, it fucking sucked and to top that off what only lasted a couple of hours felt like years. But when she awoke she felt strong, powerful, and fearless in fact. It felt like nothing had ever harmed her before in her entire life, nor would it ever harm her again either. It was a good feeling to say the very least. Slowly standing up Imogen looked at Castiel who was the only conscious person in the room, everyone else was collapsed on the floor.

"What happened?"

"They're sleeping," he explained, "I thought it would be easier than trying to explain everything that was going to happen. We will tell them when it's done and over with and we have won."

Imogen nodded, "That's better than them trying to argue with us and tell us that our plan is stupid."

"Yes, we both know that they would try and talk us out of it then come up with something convoluted that would get one or all of them killed."

"We better get our plan in motion," Imogen stated, "Can you get us into hell?"

"Normally I could, but it's been heavily warded so I really don't think that's going to happen. I can get you to one of the gates but that's as far as I can go."

"I'm an angel too. How will I be able to get in?"

"I could physically get in," he explained, "But they will attack me and kill me on sight. You on the other hand they won't because you are their queen."

"Good point," Imogen said with a nod of her head, "Okay, let's do this. Let's make our daughter, and the world for that matter, safe again."

The angels joined hands and in an instant the two were standing in front of one of the seemingly innocent gates of hell. Castiel turned to her, "This is where I must leave you," and then he kissed her, "I love you, Imogen. I know you will succeed."

Imogen had no doubt in her mind that she was going to succeed, first off she had no other choice, and secondly she was a Winchester, Win is right there in the name. She had to win. So she found herself turning to knock on the gate, knowing full well that there would be someone there behind it, and she was right as she was met with a pair of black eyes.

"Password," the deep voice command.

Imogen's eyes flipped to their sparkly golden color, "The queen of Hell doesn't need a password," she stated, eyeing the demon intensely.

"Yes ma'am," he said, opening up the door and letting her in, "We hadn't seen you in a while. Crowley said you were occupied."

"I was. Now I'm not. Where is my king?" she questioned.

"Perhaps on his throne," he suggested, "I saw him there earlier."

"Thank you," she stated, marching swiftly to where she was confident that she would find him… and she did, "Crowley," she called to the man who was sitting at his throne.

Slowly the king looked up from whatever it was that he had been concentrating on and when he saw who it was calling his name he stood and strolled over to her, "Hello my queen. Long time no see."

"Too right you are," she said with a nod, "But we made a deal, you and I," she pointed back and forth between the two."

"I wouldn't so much call it a deal as I would a plan. Though I'm surprised you even remember, since it's taken you so long to get here. Thought you either had forgotten or flipped sides on me.

"Never," she said with a smile, "I just had to make it look like something it wasn't to those other people. Obviously I did a good job if I even fooled the king of Hell," Imogen very much so remembered the plan that she and her king had made.

" _They are going to know something's wrong if you just stroll up to them," Crowley had argued with her when they were discussing how to locate her daughter and bring her to Hell years ago._

 _"You're right," she agreed, "They're going to have to think it's their idea."_

 _"Too right you are… Darling, you're going to have to let them do that stupid cure on you. They won't just hand the little girl over to a demon. This is going to have to be real and you are going to have to be with them a while, perhaps even years before they will bring her to you."_

 _"Why should we waste all this time and let them cure me? Why not just torture them until they tell me her location?"_

 _"Come on love, you're not stupid. You know that there's no amount of torture that would make either of those boys anybody anything about that child, they've proven that time and time again."_

 _"True enough," Imogen nodded, "But there has to be some weakness," she looked expectantly at the man, "Someone one of my brother's is close to that we could use as leverage?"_

 _"Possibly," Crowley said with a nod, "There is another child a wee bit younger than your own. If we torture her it could elicit a response from the Winchester brothers," he shook his head, "But even so, I think we should go ahead with the plan to trick them. It is much more full proof."_

 _Imogen shook her head, "You just said that plan could take months, years even. And if I'm human that long who's to say I won't really join their side? Tell them all about this plan? If I'm human then I may not want to come back to you. I was a weak human, Crowley, and I'm sure I would be again. I'm not weak now, and I don't ever want to be weak again."_

 _"Oh," he ran his hand through her hair and kissed her forehead, "My dear, you may be weak for a little while, but it won't be for any longer than it has to be. I will come back for you. I will turn you back into the fierce and formidable creature that I adore."_

 _She smiled lustfully at him, "You promise?"_

 _"I swear on …" he paused to think, "Well, I can't think of anything I care about other than myself, so I swear on me."_

 _"Oh yeah?"_

 _"Absolutely. But don't get too flattered," he teased, "I only want you back because you complement me well."_

 _"I see. So you're only protecting your assets?"_

 _"Precisely, my queen."_


	51. Chapter Fifty

Dean felt fine when he finally awoke, so fine in fact that he automatically knew that something was wrong and he shot bolt right up to see Sam laying on the floor and Kristen as well, thankfully they were both breathing and he remembered Castiel knocking them all out… Whatever the angel and his sister had planned, well Dean had a bad feeling about it. As he was using the map table to help him get to his feet he heard the loud squeak and groan of the heavy door entrance to the bunker being opened and he grabbed his gun out of the waistband of his pants, he didn't care who it was he was ready to shoot, but he lowered his weapon when a young blonde came down the spiral staircase.

"Claire," he stuck the gun back into the waistband of his jeans, and slowly approached. This was the first time that he had seen her since he had gotten her fiancé killed on a hunt, "What are you doing here?"

Claire shrugged her shoulders, "Figured you idiots could use all the help you can get. We gotta get Axel back."

"Jody told you," he said with a sigh, "I told her not to."

"Yeah, well she did and here I am.

Thought you said you didn't want anything to do with me ever again."

"I don't," she snapped angrily at the man, "But this doesn't have anything to do with you."

Now Sam was waking up and groaning, the first thing he saw was the girl as well, "Claire?" he rubbed his eyes so that they would focus in on her, "What are you doing here?"

"Gonna help you find Axel. It's bullshit neither one of you called me. She's my sister."

"Didn't want you to get involved," Dean stated, "You got those kids to look after."

"Speaking of which," Sam was getting up off of the floor, "Where are they?"

"Jody is taking care of them until I get back. Now can we stop talking about me and start talking about where the hell Axel is?"

Dean sighed, "We think she's in Hell… Actually we know that she's in Hell. The only question is-" but Dean was cut off by the bunker door opening loudly once again, and now he was on high alert, with his gun aimed and Sam was doing the same thing until once again they saw who was coming down the stairs.

"Olivia," Sam headed over to help the aging woman down the set of stairs, "What are you doing here?" then he looked to the young girl behind her, "Not that I don't want to see you both, but what are you doing?"

"Something's wrong," Olivia stated, "I know that. I can sense it."

"You never cancel trips, Uncle Sam," Azrael stated, "So we came to you to see if we could help."

"Uh," Dean cleared his throat, "All due respect, but I'm not really sure you two are gonna be the best out on the combat field if it comes down to it."

"Dean!" Sam barked unhappily at him.

"No," Olivia shook his head, "Your brother is right, we wouldn't dare slow you down by trying to join in the fight, but there are other things that we can do. And now that I'm here and I can sense your thoughts I know exactly how I can be of service."

"Like what?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Like I can help you find where you need to be. I have connections, I know a little witch craft that can at the very least tell you where you can start looking for Axel."

"Awesome," Claire barked, "Then let's get this show on the road."

Of course Imogen was lying. She hadn't forgotten the plan that she and Crowley had made before the Winchesters cured her, but she had flipped sides. She wasn't on Crowley side, of course not! She was here to make sure her daughter was safe, kill Crowley, and lastly keep the world from imploding. In that order.

"Well then aren't I glad you finally made it. How far behind are your brother's?"

"Maybe a few hours, a day tops," she lied, she truly had no idea when or if they were going to show up. She was sure that Castiel would at the very least try to keep them occupied, "Where's the child? I'm assuming you're keeping her safe?"

"No doubt," he said with a nod, "I have her locked up in our room where no demon will set foot. She is out of sight, she will not be harmed."

"Just like we agreed," she said with a smile.

"Exactly… Now you do remember what else that we agreed on?" he questioned, "About you giving me an heir to the throne?"

She eyed him briefly, she actually didn't remember making him that promise but she wasn't about to argue with him about it. She needed to get on his good side to make it easier to run him through with the angel blade she had so strategically hidden on her person, "Absolutely. I think we should get right on that."

"As do I," he moved closer to her, "I would suggest going back to our private quarters, but your child is in there, so here will have to do," he looked around, "Everyone out," he ordered his demons and with a flick of his wrist closed the doors.

"Always such a romantic," she said with a short laugh.

Crowley snapped his fingers and the melodic instrumentals of Careless Whisper filled the room, "Better?" he questioned.

She rolled her eyes, "You have no idea how much."

"Good," he was leaning in close to her but suddenly stopped, "Hold on a moment, I have something for you," and he turned his back to her and that's when Imogen saw her chance. Her hand closed around the cold metal of her blade and she raised it up above her head and went to bring it down on him when he flipped around and grabbed her by her arm, violently twisting it until he heard a crack and the blade slid far across the room, "How stupid do you think I am?"

She flinched when her bone cracked, but it didn't hurt quite as much as one might think since she was no longer human, "Apparently not as stupid as you look. Congratulation."

"I knew the second you walked in here that you weren't on my side, Darling. Oh but you will be."

"How much you want to bet?"

"I don't make bets," he stated, "But I can promise you in just a few years of delicious torture you will be just as perfect, if not more, than you were before."

Dean, Sam, Kristen, Claire, Olivia, and Azrael were all standing around a table and watching a map burn after Olivia had done a tracking spell on it. It burned slowly until there was only on area left on the map. "Calvary Cemetery," Sam read the name, "The devil's gate. Cas must have opened it."

"No I didn't," the deep voice boomed through the room, "I didn't have to. It's opened and manned by one of Crowley's most trusted."

"Well what the hell is our sister doing there, Cas? I mean I sat here and watched you knife her, so she's dead, right?"

Castiel shook his head, "No, she's not dead. She's reborn and she will save the world."

Dean blinked slowly trying his best not to leap across the room and start pounding on the angel, "What the hell are you talking about?" he was grinding his teeth, and if it hadn't been for Kristen taking his hand then he would have attacked.

To the best of his ability Castiel explained the plan to the lot, which of course was met with contempt from Dean.

"That's the stupidest damn idea that I have ever heard!" Dean snapped at the angel, "You're going to get her killed."

"No," Castiel shook her head, "She is going to save the world. I know that to be true."

"You sent her in there to die! She needs us as back up and I swear to God Cas if you don't send us there right now I'll kill you myself."

Castiel took a step towards Dean, "Will you now?" he questioned.

In an instant Sam was between the two, "Okay guys, and come on. This isn't helping," he looked to Cas, "Can you just take us to the gate? We're not asking you to go in there and to fight, we just want to help our sister."

Kristen had pulled Dean back and away from Castiel, gently rubbing his shoulders, "Dean," she said softly, "I know you don't wanna hear this, but I think it's a good plan and if anyone could pull it off it would be a Winchester. I know you don't want your sister down there with demons and ruling hell, but if anyone was going to do it and do it right it would be a Winchester."

"You're right," Dean snarled, "I don't want to hear that," he turned his attention back to Castiel, "I want you to take us there."

Castiel sighed and looked down at his feet, "Fine," he stated, "But for the record I don't think this is such a good idea."

"I'm going too," Claire, who had remained silent up until this point, finally spoke up.

"Oh hell no," Dean spat, "There's no way we're bringing you to Hell. Just me and Sammy."

"Uh excuse me," Kristen snapped, "I'm going too."

Dean groaned.

Castiel turned his attention to Claire who he hadn't realized was there until right in that moment, "Claire, you can't. If something was to happen to you what of your children?"

"What about your daughter, Castiel?" she stated coldly, "I'm going."

"Me too," Kristen stated, "There's power in numbers."

"They aren't wrong," Sam looked to Olivia and Azrael, "You two stay here until we get back all right? Make yourselves at home," he kneeled down to Azrael's height, "If I don't see you again-"

Azrael put a hand over his mouth to silence him, "No," she said calmly, "Whatever it is tell me when you get back," but she already knew, because she could read his mind. She wrapped her arms around him and when their hug broke he hugged Olivia as well.

"Come back safe, understand?" Olivia ordered with a wag of her bony finger, "You're a good man, Sam Winchester," she looked to Dean, "So are you, Dean."

Dean nodded in acknowledgement and turned to Castiel, "Let's kick some ass."

Castiel nodded and held his hand out, "Everyone grab on," and once they did in the very next instant everyone was transported to right outside the devil's gate.

"Are you coming with us?" Dean questioned the angel.

"No," Castiel said with a shake of his head, "But pray to me when it's done and I will return," he stated and disappeared before anyone had a chance to respond.

Imogen was bleeding, not badly of course but she was in fact bleeding. Her nose was shattered and the blood was dripping down her face onto the previously white blouse that she was wearing. "Does beating your wife get you hard?" she questioned, spitting some blood at him when he knelt down in front of her.

"Oh darling, you have no idea how much," he ran his hand through her hair and grabbed a fistful of it, "You have don't know how long I have waiting to have you back in my violently loving embrace."

"Well keep on fucking waiting," she snarled at him.

"Should I? Perhaps you should rethink that seeing as I have your daughter chained up in a room. Perhaps I'll forget to feed her for a few days or maybe I'll let another demon have some fun with her. I promised that I wouldn't do her any harm but I can't always keep control of my subjects."

Imogen scoffed, "Come on now Crowley, I'm not stupid. You've probably already had her killed."

"That's where you would be wrong. See I am a loyal king, and soon enough you will again be my loyal queen."

"Prove it," Imogen snapped, "Prove that she's still alive."

Crowley scratched his chin, "Fine," he stated as he turned on his heel and headed out of the room to go and retrieve Axel. He was back in less than five minutes, his hand grasping tightly on the back of her neck, "See, she's very much so alive."

Imogen would have gotten up and headed over to her, but she was restrained to a chair, "Has he hurt you?" she demanded, "Are you okay?"

"What's happening?" Axel asked shakily, "What's going on?"

"Don't worry," Imogen assured the child, "I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure you're safe."

Crowley rolled his eyes, "Sit," he ordered her and Axel immediately sat on the ground, backing herself up against a wall and pulling her knees up to her chest, "Now I am your Uncle Crowley," he pointed to himself, "I am the King of Hell, and this is your mother, the queen of hell. You do exactly as we tell you and you will have nothing to worry about. Understand?"

She nodded her head, keeping her eyes fixed tightly on the floor.

"Good," he walked slowly over to Imogen and had her angel blade in his hand, lightly tracing over her leg with it, but not applying enough pressure to do her any harm, "Now, this is going to be so much fun," and as he started to press the blade deeper into her bare thigh there was a ruckus out in the hallway, "Oh bollocks," he said turning to see the hunters had found their way into the room, "Hello Dean," he said with a pleasant smile, "It's been quite some time," he added as he stabbed the angel blade into Imogen's already bloodied thigh, causing her to scream in pain.

"Oh yeah," Dean barked, "We have lots to catch up on," and that was it, Dean was charging full force into the room, followed by his brother, Kristen, and Claire. Dean and Sam jumped on Crowley, but we quickly thrown off of him while Kristen's first move was to get Imogen untied from the chair, no one noticing that Axel was also in the room. It didn't take long before there was a whole swarm of demons joining in on the fight and Imogen didn't waste a second before pulling the blade out of her leg and getting up and going hand to hand with a demon. It would have been nice if there hadn't been all of that angel proofing, but she could still hold her own physically.

It didn't take Dean very long to realize that Axel was in the room with them. A demon had grabbed her and was trying to drag her out of the room and she started screaming bloody murder, Dean's head whipped around as his blade plunged into a demon, he quickly pulled it out and tossed the dead body to the ground as he bounded after his daughter and stuck his blade through the neck of the offending demon and pulled Axel close to him.

"Are you okay?" he demanded, his hand tightly gripping her arm.

"I'm fine," she assured him with a nod. In an instant Kristen was by his side too, checking the girl and making sure that she was okay.

"Stay close," Dean ordered, keeping her behind him as did Kristen so that they made something of a body shield around her as another demon descended upon him and was almost instantly knifed by Sam.

"Axel!" the long haired Winchester said in surprise, having just then realized she was in the room with them.

"We gotta get her out of here," Dean stated, "You and Kristen take her, and I'll stay back and hold them off."

Sam frowned, he knew that Axel needed to get out of there as soon as humanly possible, he just didn't want to leave in the middle of the fight. Kristen didn't want to leave either, but she would have done anything to keep Axel safe, but she wasn't going to have to. Without a word Sam spotted Claire who was being pinned down by a demon and quickly he bounded across the room and plunged his knife into the demon's back and threw him off of Claire and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks Sam," she said, checking herself to make sure she was okay.

"Don't mention it," he replied, "You've gotta get Axel out of here," he pointed to the girl who was being protectively shielded by Dean's body, "You've gotta make sure she's safe."

Claire started to argue but Sam held up a finger to silence her, "You said you only came here to save Axel, well getting her out of here is the best way to do that. Call Cas as soon as you get out and he'll take you home to your kids. Please Claire, keep your sister safe."

Kristen turned to face Axel and took her face in her hands, "I love you."

"I love you too," Axel squeaked.

At Sam's words Claire jogged across the room, nodded to Dean, and took Axel's hand, running from the room with the teen and both Sam and Dean were able to put their minds more on killing off the last of the demons that were left in the room now that Axel was running to safety. Claire didn't let go of Axel's hand as the two sprinted down the long corridors, Claire navigating the hallways of hell as best she could remember from making it down to that room earlier. It wasn't an easy task, especially when you're in that much of a panic, but Claire was sure she was on the right path as they rounded a corner and were met with a set of black eyes.

"Hello there," the demon's voice was cool and smooth, "Where do you two think you're going?"

Claire snarled and dropped Axel's hand, readying her blade to plunge into the demon's chest and she did, the blade pierced his heart, but not before a similar one stuck inside of Claire's abdomen and when the demon went down so did the blonde girl.

"Claire!" Axel screamed as she dropped to her knees.

Claire was laying on her back with her hand pressed up against the wound that the blade had caused her. She looked down and lifted her shirt up to see the damage, and it wasn't good to say the least. "God dammit," she choked out, a little bit of blood staining her own lips and her skin growing paler and paler by the minute.

"Claire," Axel's voice was shaken, "We've gotta get you out of here. Cas can help, we just gotta get out of here."

Claire took a shaky breath and her glassy eyes met Axel's, "I'm so sorry," she choked out, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

"No, don't say that," Axel's voice broke as she pushed some hair from Claire's face.

"If you make…" she coughed up a little more blood, "If you make it out alive I need you to promise me that you'll protect my babies."

"Claire, no please. You're gonna be fine."

"Axel… just promise me."

Axel nodded, "I will."

Claire took Axel's hand, "Just like Dean," she closed her eyes for a moment before she heard the struggle coming down the hall and she looked back at her sister, "Axel, play dead. Lay down next to me. If they think you're dead maybe they won't go after you."

Axel immediately did as she was told, lying face down next to Claire and being as still and as quiet as possible, her hand gripping Claire's tightly. She knew the second Claire was gone as her grip loosened and it took everything in her not to cry, but she had to keep it together.

It wasn't until the last demon had fallen that Crowley reappeared. Oddly enough no one had even noticed the fact that he was gone. Dean, Kristen, Sam, and Imogen were all standing together breathing heavily and wiping the blood off of their selves when he made his presence known by clapping slowly, the sound echoing off of the walls.

"Bravo," he said with a devilish smile, "Once again you hunters prove you're at least worth your salt, taking out over a dozen of demons," he looked down and gently kicked at one of his demon lackey's bodies, "And very few fatalities on your end."

Dean scoffed and looked to his partners, "Hate to break it to you Crowley, but none of us are dead."

The smile that came across the man's face actually gave Dean chills, "No, of course you aren't. But you remember those two girls you cast out of here?"

Dean's blood ran cold (not to mention the blood of all the other hunters in the room) and they all simultaneously lunged at him, and of course they were all deflected with a flick of his wrist, throwing them into the cement wall, all except for Imogen who he grabbed tightly by the hair and drug from the room, despite her struggling.

Everyone else was writhing in pain on the ground and Crowley shut the lights off and stood in the doorway, "I hope the lot of you have fun starving to death in this room together," and the door was shut and latched as Crowley began dragging Imogen down the hall.

"Stop squirming," he barked at her.

"Fuck you!" she snapped angrily, finally breaking out of his grasp and attempting to throw her fists into his face, but he caught her once again. She was weak from the battle and from all of the anti-angel warding around them. It wasn't until Crowley drug her down the hallway that both Claire and Axel were laying in, covered in blood, did she actually collapse to her knees, trying to scramble over to her daughter, but Crowley grabbed a fistful of her hair and threw her up against the opposite wall, his back to Claire and Axel.

"You can come into my kingdom, OUR KINGDOM, and you can decimate our numbers, kill our subjects, but you won't best me, because I can promise you that I will always be one step ahead."

"Kill me," Imogen snarled, "Because I will never be your queen again, and if you let me live I can guarantee you that I will spend every last day until the end of eternity figuring out a way to make you suffer. I swear, Crowley."

"I guess we'll have to see about that," Crowley stated, pulling her back up.

"You can bet on it," she locked eyes with him.

Neither of them saw it coming, not Imogen or Crowley. Imogen had been absolutely sure that her daughter was dead, but she wasn't. Axel had grabbed Claire's blade and forced it as hard as she could into Crowley's back, bright light shone from his eyes, his grip on Imogen released, and he collapsed onto the floor into a pile.

Imogen just stood there for a moment staring at the daughter that she had created, and then she pulled her into a strong hug before holding her at arm's length, "I thought you were dead," she looked passed Axel to Claire who was still laying on the ground, "Is she?"

Axel swallowed hard, willing herself not to cry, "She's gone… Where's Dad? Please tell me him and Kris and Sammy are okay."

Imogen nodded and took Axel's hand, pulling her down the corridor back to the room that they had all been locked inside of. Luckily the key was hanging on the wall beside the door and in just a few moments Imogen had the door open and the people were pouring out.

"Boy I have never been more glad to see light," Dean breathed, seeing Axel and pulling her into a hug, "You're okay?" he held her at arm's length, "You were supposed to get out of here. Why'd you come back?"

Axel looked away from her father.

"Axel, speak to me," he demanded.

"Dean," Sam pushed his brother away, "Where's Claire?" he asked, "Is she okay?"

Still Axel didn't reply. She wanted to, she didn't want to hold them in suspense, but she couldn't find it in herself to say the words again.

"No," Imogen answered for her daughter, "She's not okay."

"Where the hell is she?" Dean barked and followed the finger that Imogen had pointed, running down the walk as fast as he could until he reached her body. Axel on the other hand couldn't move. She stayed in that one spot, trembling until Kristen wrapped her arms her and then she just fully broke down and it took everything in Kristen not to sob with her, but someone had to be strong.

"You got this?" Sam asked, knowing that Dean was going to need some help and waited until he got the okay from Kristen and Imogen before he too headed off in search of Dean, who he quickly found sitting next to the pale body of the blonde girl, "Dean," Sam announced himself, "It's not your fault."

"Of course it's my fault," Dean snapped at his brother, "I was supposed to keep her safe. I wasn't supposed to let her come on this hunt and let her get killed."

"You weren't gonna be able to stop her," Sam said, kneeling down, "You told her no and she insisted on coming anyways. She knew the risks Dean. You didn't ask her, she wanted this."

"Really? You think she wanted to die? You think that she wanted to leave her kids as orphans?"

"No," Sam shook his head, "But she knew what she was getting in to, she knew that it was worth the risk, and we needed her. Who knows what would have happened if we hadn't had her with us?"

Dean shook his head, but didn't respond to his brother's comment as he lifted her body and stood, "We need to get out of here," and just as he was saying that Imogen, Kristen, and Axel were all rounding the corner, "Who knows the way out?"

"I do," Imogen explained, motioning for everyone to follow her as she led them to the exit in which they had come. When they were all standing at the mouth of the opening Imogen turned to Kristen and hugged her, "I know we haven't always gotten along and a lot of that is on me, but I want to thank you for giving my child a mother when I couldn't."

Kristen nodded, "It was my pleasure."

Imogen took a deep breath and turned to Dean, "And thank you for always cleaning up my messes, you and Sammy were the best big brothers a girl could ever ask for."

Dean half smiled at her, he liked her words, but he didn't like where this was going. He knew from Castiel's plan what was going to happen, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Now Imogen turned to Sam, "You always had my back, maybe even when you shouldn't have and because of that I never felt alone when I had you. Thank you Sammy."

"You don't ever have to thank me for that, Em. Being yours and Dean's brother was the best part of my life."

Finally Imogen looked to Axel and took her hand, "I'm so sorry that I never got the chance to be your mother… but I think you did a lot better with these two," she pointed back and forth from Dean to Kristen, "They're both pretty great."

Axel looked at her silently for a moment before finally speaking up, "You're not coming back with us, are you?"

Imogen took a deep breath and slowly shook her head, "No, I'm staying here. You can get your dad or Cas to explain it to you later, but I just want you to know that I love you so much."

Axel bit her lip and threw her arms around Imogen, "I love you too, Mom," then she let go of Imogen, "Most girls aren't lucky enough to have two mom's and two dads," she looked over her shoulder at Kristen, Sam, and Dean who all looked pretty broken right now.

Kristen gently grabbed Axel's hand, "We need to go," she said softly.

"Okay," Axel said with a nod and wiped the tears from her eyes, "I guess this is goodbye," she said, looking to Imogen.

A small smile filled Imogen's face, "It better be. I don't ever want to see any of you here in Hell ever again," she stated firmly, "I mean it."


	52. Epilogue

As soon as the group was outside of the gate of hell Castiel was waiting for them. The first thing he saw was Claire laying limply in Dean's arms and for a moment they all thought that the angel was going to cry, but he didn't. Instead he got them back to the bunker where Claire got the rightful hunters funeral that she deserved. Axel sobbed, Dean did too but not until later when he was alone in his room, and even Sam let some tears fall.

Sam said his goodbyes to Olivia and Azrael, with the promise that he would stop in as soon as he could for another visit and the next day Sam, Dean, Kristen, and Axel were in the Impala on the way up to Sioux Falls. This was news that they would have to tell Jody in person.

As soon as she opened the door and saw that Claire wasn't with them she knew what they were about to tell her. "No," she said with a shake of her head and started to fall to her knees, but Sam caught her before she hit the ground and got her inside to the couch where Claire's children were playing in the living room.

"Axe, why don't you take the kids outside to play while we talk to Jody?" Dean suggested.

Axel nodded and picked up the boy and balanced him on her hip, "C'mon Jimmy, Amelia," she motioned for the older girl child to follow as she made her way to the back door.

"I think I'll go and help her," Kristen said, following closely behind. She didn't know Jody all that well and thought it would make everyone a little more comfortable if she was outside with Axel while they explained everything to her. It wasn't an easy thing to do, explaining all of that to Jody. Watching her face contort as she tried not to cry, and then the brothers trying to hold it together themselves when she did. The poor woman had already lost so much because of them and now this too.

"We're so sorry, Jody," Sam choked out.

"If you hate us we get it," Dean announced.

Jody shook her head, "I don't hate you guys. We all knew the risk and Claire thought it was worth it," she took in a shaky breath, "I'm just so sick of losing people we care about."

"I get that," Dean said with a nod.

"And I can't believe these kids have to grow up without a mom or a dad."

"Well, they've got us and they've got you," Dean began, "I know that's maybe not saying a lot, but it's something."

Jody nodded slowly as Amelia was coming back inside and Axel was chasing after her, "Sorry, she needs the bathroom," she motioned to the child who had made her way in there herself. Axel walked over to Jody to hug her, "I'm so sorry, this is my fault."

She was met with a chorus of 'No's' from everyone.

"She was trying to save me," Axel explained, "If it wasn't for me she'd still be alive."

"She loved you and her kids more than anything in this world. You guys were the only blood she had. I promise you she doesn't regret it for a second," Jody reasoned.

Axel nodded slowly, "I promised her that I would help protect her kids. It was her dying wish."

Jody's face went pale, "You can't… you can't take them away from me."

Dean shook his head, "Of course we would never do that to you Jody."

But Axel looked through the window to Kristen who was playing outside with Jimmy, the younger of the siblings, "I can't leave them."

"Axel, what are you saying?" Sam demanded softly.

"Axe, you're sixteen. You can't possibly think that you can raise two kids," Dean argued.

The young girl took a deep breath and looked from her father and uncle back to Jody, "I want to stay here and help you."

The room was silent for several moment before Dean broke it, "Axel no."

She turned to look at Dean, "Why not?" she asked calmly, "Jody needs me, the kids need me, and I need them."

"What about me?" Dean questioned, "And Sam and Kris? We need you too."

"No you don't, not as much as they do," Axel stated, "I love you all of y'all but I need to be here. I'll go back to school, I'll help Jody with the kids, I'll get a job, I'll do whatever I have to do to keep these kids safe, but I need to be here right now."

Dean wanted to argue, he wanted to throw her in the back of the Impala and speed away as quickly he could and make Axel his little girl again but that ship had sailed and while he could try all of that there was no point. She was old enough to know what was right and what wasn't.

"Sam what do you think?" he turned to his brother who's mouth just kind of hung open and he shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea what to say, no one really did.

"Jody?" Dean said, shooting his eyes to the grieving woman.

"There is nothing that I would like more than for you to come and stay with me, Axel," she was answering Dean's question but she was talking to Axel.

"Okay then," Axel said with a nod, "It's settled."

"Wait," Dean started to protest but quickly gave up, "I'm gonna miss you so much."

Axel nodded, "I'll miss you too," she stated, "But Sioux Falls is a lot closer to Lebanon than Alaska is."

"That's true," Dean agreed and got up to hug his daughter, "I love you so damn much. I hope that you know that."

"I do, Daddy. I love you too. I'll call all the time and visit when I get my license."

"You better," he said with a half laugh.

Sam came over and hugged her too, "Better call me too."

"You know I will," she smiled at him, "I'm gonna go talk to Kristen, tell her the news," she said heading outside.

So that's what happened. Axel stayed on with Jody to help raise and take care of the kids, it was a full time job to say the least and she was going to need all of the help that she could get in doing it, but at the end of the day Axel was a Winchester and she could do absolutely anything that she put her mind to.

Sam went back to Texas, spending most of his time with Olivia and Azrael when he wasn't off hunting, but the older that he got the less time he actually wanted to spend doing jobs. He may not have been Azrael's biological father, but since when has biology and blood ever mattered to a Winchester?

As for Dean and Kristen? They traveled, they hunted, they spent many nights at the bunker in their undies eating crap food and watching awful movies, and pretty often they made their way back to Sioux Falls to check on Jody, Axel, and the kids. Everything was different now, but it wasn't worse. Sure it wasn't the happy ending that everyone wants in a story, but it was the ending they got.

Imogen's story on the other hand ended quite a bit differently than everyone else's. She didn't spend nights at home curled up with a loved one on the couch. In fact to be completely honest, she didn't have any loved ones She didn't see Sam and Dean, she didn't see Axel, she did occasionally see Castiel but despite their feelings for one another they maintained a strictly professional relationship. It's kind of hard to have a social life when running Hell is literally a 24/7 job.

However there is one thing worth mentioning. At the time Imogen hadn't been managing Hell very long, hadn't had time to lose all of her humanity, when she called upon Castiel for a favor. She wasn't sure if he would be able to help her with it, but she knew she had to at least ask or risk never knowing. But he made it happen. The first and only time Imogen ever set foot in Heaven Castiel was at her side, leading her down a hallway full of doors and into a room where the first person she saw was Bobby, standing there, looking the same as the last she had seen him, gray hair, beer belly, and unshaved stubble.

"Hey kiddo," he said, a shocked expression on his face as he pulled her into a hug before holding her at arm's length and looking her up and down, "Not that I'm not happier than a hunter with a new bag of salt to see you, but what exactly are you doing here? You better not tell me that you're dead."

Imogen couldn't help the tear that dripped down her cheek, "No, I'm not dead… Well not anymore anyways. I'm an angel, Bobby."

Bobby couldn't help but to chuckle, "Well, that beats being a demon I suppose," he held her for a moment longer before dropping his hands back down to his side, "How'd you land the gig?"

"Hell if I know," she said with a shake of her head, "The physics and technicalities are way over my head, but long story short I'm kind of ruling Hell now."

"Damn. A lot has changed since I've been Earth side hasn't it?"

"More than you could ever even imagine," she took a deep breath and wiped at the tears that were still insisting on coming, "Bobby I'm so sorry for everything."

"Ah hush ya' idjit. Don't gotta apologize to me."

"I love you, Bobby. Thank you for everything you ever did for me."

"Right back at you," he said hugging her once again.

"I gotta go," she looked sadly at him.

"Don't be a stranger," he said jokingly, knowing that this was likely a onetime occurrence.

Imogen stepped out of the room to see Castiel waiting on her, "Come on," he grabbed her hand gently, "The other one is just around the corner," he explained as he led her to the other room and opened the door to let her inside.

There he was, Nicholas Packwood, or Nick as Imogen had called him since the day she had met him. She had lied to him about practically everything starting the day they had met, about her age, her life, hunting, her family, basically everything she told him was a lie, but he was the first person that she ever loved in that way. Dean and Sam broke them up as soon as they got wind of the relationship, but it was too late because Imogen was sixteen and pregnant. Eventually, but not until after the baby was born, the two found their way back to each other and were together until both he and the baby died six months later, but we've already told that story.

There Nick was, sitting on the couch with a chubby, six month old baby in his arms, and it took everything in Imogen not to fall down sobbing. She never thought that she was going to see either one of them ever again. "Imogen," the man said breathlessly, getting up and walking over to her, "Is that really you?"

She nodded, "Yeah, Nick, it's really me."

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, "Are you dead?" and though he didn't like the idea of Imogen being dead he almost sounded hopeful.

"No," she stated soundly, "I'm not. But I wanted to come and see you," she looked down at the baby, "Oliver," she breathed and held her hands out and was handed the child and hugged him close to her, a warm feeling flooding her entire body.

Every single day, until her own death, since her child had died she had felt an emptiness inside of her, one that couldn't be filled. Not even with her daughter, though maybe that would have been different if she'd actually gotten the chance to raise her like she did with Oliver.

"He's so beautiful," Imogen hugged him close and looked back to Nick, "I'm so sorry I never told you about monsters and stuff, and because of that I let you and Oliver die."

"Don't say that," Nick shook his head, "Don't ever say that. I know that you never would have let anything happen to Oliver. I know that you loved him more than anything in this entire world."

Imogen nodded, he was absolutely right about that. "I loved you too, Nick… I never stopped loving you," and that was the truth, even when she loved Castiel it wasn't the same. Don't get me wrong, she didn't love Castiel any less than she loved Nick, but it was different, "I still love you. So much."

He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her and the baby, "I'm so glad that I got to love you. It was the best part of my entire life."

She kissed both Nick and the baby and handed Oliver back to his father, "I've gotta go."

"Will you be back?" he questioned, though he knew the answer to that.

"I can't," she took a breath, "But I will miss you."

And then she stepped out of Nick's Heaven and she went back to managing Hell presumably for the rest of eternity- but that's not part of this story. It wasn't a fairy tale ending, it wasn't even a good ending, but it was the one they all got.

 **A/N: All good things must come to an end! Thank you so much fort sticking with me through this trilogy, I love this and it breaks my heart to let it go, but we have reached the end. Please let me know what you think about it!**


End file.
